Isabella, Tartarus survivor
by Alaya Jenkins
Summary: Isabella has been trapped in Tartarus for 71 years. Even she doesn't know how she managed to survive. When she meets two people, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, there is finally hope that she can escape.
1. Prologue

Prologue

I was running, running as fast as I could, glancing behind me every couple of seconds. They were coming. I wasn't sure I could survive it this time. It had been so long, so long, and I was so tired. And the things I had seen. I... I couldn't even describe them. This was literally the Hell of hell. Where the worst things went. I didn't know how I knew it's name. Nobody had ever taught me about it. The name just came into my brain when I fell. And the life I'd had since then -no, you couldn't call it life. Life couldn't be like this. The horrors I'd witnessed, the horrors I'd _experienced_. That wasn't life.

My feet sank into the thick, fleshy membrane that made up the ground. I was choking on the stale, boiling, acidic air. I could hear them behind me: "Come back here! There's never anything fun to hunt down here. A human would be amazing. Let's get her!". It was Kelli and her mob of empousai.

I tripped over my feet, and scrambled to get back up. I hadn't slept in days, and the River Phlegethon was unreachable from here. I'd hurt my leg, badly, and I couldn't climb down the ledge. I'd tried, but I almost fell, and I decided it wasn't worth it. I had to get out of here. I still had life ahead of me, or at least I... thought I did.

Time didn't work right down here. I'd tried to keep count when I first fell, but lost track of time after the first 6 months. I knew it had been years. My bones should be creaking, and my hair should be grey, and I should be about 80 years old. But I wasn't. I still looked, and _felt,_ 15 years old. The age I was when I fell down here. When I fell into Tartarus.


	2. A lucky escape

Chapter 1

I was so close to giving up. I'd been running from Kelli and the other empousai for three days. I hadn't slept, ate or drunk anything in those days. I couldn't stop running. But I was tired. So tired. My muscles were screaming at me to stop, and I started thinking maybe I should listen to them. I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't see a way out. What was the point? I shook my head. I couldn't be thinking like that. My legs gave out from underneath me. I fell forward, and tried to use the momentum to push myself back up, but my legs buckled the second I put weight on them. I was spent.

I heard Kelli laughing manically, and felt the ground move as her and her gang stalked towards me. "What have we here?" she asked, patronisingly. "Has the little human given up? It's ok, we'll make sure your death is long and painful, won't we girls?" Kelli clicked her fingers at them, and they all murmured in agreement. "This should be fun." She stepped forward and flexed her fingers.

"Fottiti" I grunted through gritted teeth. Kelli looked confused for a moment, then wagged her finger at me and said:

"Now, now, we can't be having that kind of language." She took another step forward and I braced myself. This was it. All this surviving, for years and years, and for what? To be killed by a bitchy empousai and her bitchy friends? What a sucky way to go.

I took a deep breath, trying to summon anything I could, like I had before. It had protected me before, kept me alive. But I had no energy, I couldn't do it. I closed my eyes as Kelli and her gang took another step forward, when there was an almighty BOOM!

I opened my eyes again, and flicked my head around to locate the source of the noise. Water droplets flicked against my face, and already voices started whispering

"Enough. All your friends and family, they're dead. For such a long time. Just give up. What's the point? You have no one. No one."

A sob escaped my throat, and I covered my mouth. This wasn't real. It was water from the Cocytus. It told lies. I had someone. I had Damasen. He had been good to me. Looked after me while I was down here. For ages. I had to leave him, to try to find a way out, but I never forgot him. I smiled from the nostalgia, and slowly felt the misery slowly drain from my system. I was lucky it had only been a few drops.

I hadn't seen Damasen, not in ages, but he was still my closest ally. I would even go as far as to call him a friend. I wiped the water from my face, and slowly stood up. But Kelli was no longer looking at me. She was looking in the direction of the Cocytus. I watched as she sniffed deeply and let out a hard breath with a smile.

"Girls, I do believe I smell freshly caught demi-god. And I do believe that it's the one who sent me here. Let's get him!" They all roared and started running in the direction of Cocytus. I breathed a sigh of relief and watched them disappear into the distance. Then I turned, and ran.


	3. Shelter

Chapter 2

I needed to rest. I knew if I didn't, I'd die. I looked around me as I ran, my knotted, unbrushed hair whipping against my face. I slowly came to a halt. There was a small cave to the left of me, that looked safe enough. I walked up, holding my breath, with the dagger Damasen had given me as a parting present held in my hand. I advanced towards the mouth of the cave, and peered inside. It was dark, but I had flint in my pocket that I could use to make fire. I cautiously walked into the cave, and sat down. I sat with my right leg out straight. I'd injured it, dislocated the knee I think, fighting... something. I didn't know what it was, but after all these years down here, I knew it was some kind of monster.

I looked around me, and saw a couple of twigs. It wouldn't make a great fire, but it was something, and I needed the light. I took the flints out of my pocket and struck them together once, twice, thrice, and then the fourth time, there was finally a spark. It caught one of the twigs, and a small flame formed.

I looked down at my leg, as soon as the fire started providing enough light. I was used to seeing all manner of injuries now, so the sight of my mangled leg and twisted knee didn't shock me. Slowly so as not to cause myself any extra pain, I put my hands to my kneecap, holding it either side. I took three deep breaths, and started counting down from five. At one, I pushed my kneecap back into place, and a yelp escaped my mouth. At that moment, I heard something move outside, and my hand flew to my mouth.

I bit down on my knuckles, the pain intense, and gripped my dagger tightly in my hand. I tried to slow and quieten my breathing. I didn't want to have to fight anything today, I was too tired. I saw a shadow approaching from outside, and I quickly blew out the tiny fire I had started. Great, there went the little light I had.

The shadow grew larger, and I heard a sniff. I was kind of annoyed. If that thing found me, I would have to defend myself. I heard one last sniff, then a deep sigh. A voice quietly muttered "I could have sworn I smelled demi-god." Another voice, slightly more raspy and high pitched than the other, replied:

"So did I. It might have been something to do with the splash earlier. I bet you anything that was a demi-god, come to close to the pit for their own good."

The lower voice sighed again and said "Well then, idiot, let's go and find it."

I heard footsteps moving away from the cave, and waited for what felt like an hour, until I was sure they were finally gone. I lowered my hand from my mouth, the pain in my leg having quieted down to a dull throb now. I shuffled further back into the cave and lay down on my side, facing outside. I clutched the sheathed dagger to my chest and closed my eyes. With any luck, nothing would come here for a while, and I would be safe.


	4. Close your eyes and jump

Chapter 3

My eyes flew open, and I sat up with a start. My sleep was never dreamless. And I never seemed to have nice dreams. I'd just dreamt that there was a war, and a huge person in the sky. There were Roman centurions, and other kids dressed in what I though might be Greek armour. They were all armed and fighting, and there was so much death you could smell it in the air. The person in the sky was killing left right and centre. And then, there was a brilliant fireball, and it exploded in the sky, taking the giant person with it. Then, a flash of some sort of statue, and then I woke up.

I drew my knees to my chest, and rubbed my temples with my palms. I didn't ever understand my dreams, but that had been up there with some of the worst. I stood up, carefully testing out how my knee felt. I could walk on it, so it was fine. I left the cave, making a note of the surroundings around it so I could find it again if necessary.

I walked for what felt like days, coming across only small monsters that weren't difficult for me to kill. I was tired, but not to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out, and I could only sleep if I got to that point. Time was too precious. I didn't even know if there was a way out, but if there was, I had to find it.

My leg was still twinging, but I felt like I could manage it, so I started walking towards the River Phlegethon. I cam to the ledge, and started to make my way down. My arms shook from the exertion I was putting on my muscles, but it was a feeling I was used to now. I reached the bottom of the cliff, and carefully jumped down. I ran to the river bank, and, without hesitating, scooped a palm full of the liquid fire into my mouth. It burned, but it was the only source of nourishment I had. I choked it down and scooped up another palm full for good measure.

Slowly, I stood up, and was pleased to see that the fire had healed the pain in my leg. I went to scale the cliff again, when I heard a rumble from behind me. I spun around to see what was causing the noise, my hand already on the hilt of my dagger. The floor was shaking, and I could see a massive outline on the horizon. Shit. Giant. I could see his eyes glistening, and I heard a chuckle. I knew he had spotted me. I turned back again, and ran as fast as I could. I knew he would catch up to me, but I had to try.

I ran, and ran, and ran, but the giant never gave up chase. I looked around, desperately trying to recognise some of my surroundings. There was a crack between two rocks. I didn't have any choice. I was going to die anyway. I closed my eyes, and jumped.


	5. We've got company

Chapter 4

I tried not to scream as a fell, and within seconds, I felt the impact of my feet on the ground. I bent my knees slightly, to absorb the shock, and opened my eyes quickly. There were two faces, staring at me, one boy and one girl. I let out a yelp of shock, and reached to grab my dagger, but the boy already had his sword pointed at me, and the girl had somehow managed to get behind me and but her dagger to my throat. "What are you?" The girl questioned in a demanding voice.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, caught off guard by the fact that I was being asked questions. Normally, things just tried to kill me. The boy took a threatening step towards me, and the girl tightened her arm around my throat.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" she yelled.

"A- a human." I blinked, confused.

"Your lying." The boy hissed. "Tell us what you are or I swear to gods, we'll kill you."

"I'm not lying! Really, I'm not." I said, scared now, as well as confused. This was the weirdest monster encounter I'd ever had. The boy went to say something, but the girl held up her free hand.

"I think she's telling the truth." The girl said. The boy raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"You sure?"

"I think so." She said. I felt her grip on my throat loosening, and finally she dropped her arm.

"How did you get here?" She asked.

"I don't know." I replied. "I just... I just woke up here. Look, I'm sorry to sound rude but, well, what are _you_?" I asked.

"Human, like you." The boy replied. He held up something, a lid of some sort?, and placed it on the point of his sword. It shrank into a pen. I looked at it with wide eyes. The boy stepped forward, with a hand out stretched. "I'm Percy," he said "And this is Annabeth. Who are you?"

"Isabella." I took his hand and shook it once. I hadn't seen another human in so long, and I was so overwhelmed that I sobbed. Just once. Percy looked slightly shocked and embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" he asked in an inquisitive tone.

"I haven't seen another human in so long. I- I'm just overwhelmed, that's all." I shook my head and tried to regain composure.

"How long have you been here?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know," I told her, "but I- I think it's been a good couple of years at least."

" _Years?_ " Percy repeated, incredulously.

"What was the year when you arrived here?" Annabeth asked.

"1939." I told her. Her eyes widened and she looked at me in shock, Percy glanced towards her, and they seemed to have a silent conversation. I saw Percy tilt his head in a questioning manner, and Annabeth nod, almost imperceptibly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly feeling anxious again.

"You got here in 1939?" Annabeth asked, repeating me. I nodded. Percy looked at me in away that made me feel like he was studying me.

"Isabella, if you fell here in 1939, that means you've been down here for 71 years. It's- it's 2010."


	6. Bob

Chapter 5

I stared at him. "No. _No._ It can't be." Annabeth looked at me with what I thought was sympathy in her eyes.

"It is." She said.

"But that means... everyone I knew is dead." I could hear my voice raise in pitch, and my throat feel like it was closing off. Percy stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Really. But right now, we need to go. Are you coming with us, or not?" I blinked.

"You know the way out?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, "but we need to find it first."

"I didn't think there was a way out. I've been searching for- well apparently for years."

"It's called the doors of death," Percy explained, "we need to find them, and close it. That means that no other monsters can escape, and we can get out."

"Ok," I nodded, "Can I please come with you?" Percy nodded and started walking, and Annabeth followed. I started walking after them, keeping my hand on my dagger the whole time just to be on the safe side. It was at that moment that I heard rumbling again and I spun arpund. Percy and Annabeth noticed my sudden movement, and turned to look at me. There, right in front of me, was a giant.

"You guys run, I'll hold him off!" I yelled, and I ran at it, my dagger outstretched.

"No, wait!" I heard Annabeth call, and I felt Percy's arms around my waist, dragging me back.

"What are you doing?" I shouted at him, "He's going to kill us!"

"No, no, no, it's alright." Percy said. He dropped his arms from around my waist and said "This is Bob. Bob's our friend, aren't you Bob?"

"Yes. Percy's friend. Percy is a good person. And Annabeth. Bob helps them!" The giant grinned. I looked at Annabeth for confirmation, and she nodded.

"Wow," I said, "You keep some weird company." Bob frowned.

"Bob's not weird." he said "Bob is a good friend and a good janitor." I looked at him scrutinisingly, then said

"You're right Bob. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you weird." Bob smiled at me and replied

"That is OK, girl."

"Isabella," I told him, "My name's Isabella"

"This is all very sweet," Annabeth interrupted, "But can we please get going?" I nodded, and turned back to follow Percy and Annabeth.


	7. Aria

Chapter 6

I thought everything was going to be ok. That was stupid of me. They came out of nowhere, circling in the air above our heads. Percy uncapped his pen, and it turned into a sword. I needed to ask him how that was possible, but now was definitely not the time. Percy jabbed his sword at the nearest one, and it grimaced in what I thought was it's attempt at a smile. A voice shoved it's way into my head- no, not _a_ voice, but several voices. I didn't know how I'd never come across these things before. " _We are the arai. You cannot destroy us."_ They said, in voices that made me feel like someone was dragging nails across a chalkboard in my brain. I heard Annabeth gasp, and Percy exhaled, hard. I could tell they were hearing the same thing as I was.

"Guys," Annabeth said, "Don't touch them. They're the spirits of curses." I heard Bob say:

"Bob doesn't like curses."

"No Bob." Percy replied, "I don't either." The came the voices again. I grunted in pain as they said

" _We serve the bitter and the defeated. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you."_ Shit.

I watched as Percy slashed at the nearest _aria,_ and red patches started blossoming on his shirt.

"Percy, you're bleeding!" Annabeth cried. "Oh, gods, on _both_ sides."

"Geryon," Percy grunted. "This is how I killed him..." Double shit. I ducked as an _aria_ flew at me and I slashed at it with my dagger. I yelped and my hand flew to my stomach. I was bleeding, like Percy. Damn. This was how I'd killed every monster I'd come across since I got here. The more I killed, the more I'd bleed. But it had to be done. We were going to die anyway, by the curses or by the _aria_. I slashed at another one as it flew by.

I slashed at another two, when I heard Annabeth cry out "I can't see!" I saw Percy run to her. This was not good. I heard Bob yell "SWEEP!" and he hit the entire line of _aria_ that were flying towards Annabeth and Percy with his broom. They disintegrated into dust. I held my breath, waiting for Bob to get cursed, but nothing happened. " _The titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory."_ The voice of the _aria_ screeched. I saw Bob turn to Percy and ask

"My memory... it was you?" I heard Percy desperately trying to reason with him, but I couldn't catch the conversation. I was being swarmed by _aria_. I slashed at them, feeling dizzy from the blood loss but I knew I didn't have a choice. But, by pure chance, I heard one word that changed everything. A name. "Nico." I heard Bob say. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. Said he was a friend. _That_ is why Bob helped Percy." I had to stop listening again, and fight off more _aria_ , but the name stuck with me. Nico. It couldn't be the same person I was thinking of. He was dead. I was sure there were a lot of people called Nico. It couldn't be my one.


	8. Aria (part II)

Chapter 7

Bob stopped helping us after that revelation. Another wave of _arai_ flew at us, and I heard Percy yelling to Annabeth, guiding her in her blind state. "LEFT!" he yelled. I felt a claw scrape at my back, and I spun around, stabbing at the _aria_ who was trying to attack me. The wound in my stomach grew bigger, and I clutched my hand to it, trying to slow the blood flow.

"BOB!" I called. No reply. I could no longer see through the massive swarming cloud of _aria_ that surrounded me. "BOB!" I yelled again. "Bob, please! Please help me!" I slashed at the monsters. Nothing. I was going to die. I shut my eyes and fell to the ground, weakly stabbing at the _aria_ , and I started gently sobbing. 71 years I'd survived down here, and for what? Ever since I'd joined with Percy and Annabeth, things seemed to be attacking us left, right and centre.

At that moment, the _aria_ closest to me disintegrated. I looked up, and smiled weakly. It was Bob. "Thank you," I said, "Thank you so much." Bob helped me up, and touched my wound. It started healing.

"Isabella was nice to Bob. Didn't make him lose his memory. Isabella is kind. Isabella is Bob's friend." I hugged his leg.

"That's right Bob. I am your friend. Thank you." I looked over, and saw Percy being overwhelmed by _aria_. He looked as though he was about to collapse, and then he did. He was steaming. _Literally_ steaming. That looked bad. I heard him whisper weakly

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Bob. I should have been honest with you. Please... forgive me. Protect Annabeth."

"Bob." I said, in a definitive voice, "I think Percy is your friend. I've known him for less time than you, but he seems to have good intentions. Please, help him. Don't let him die. I've got a feeling he's important. And Annabeth needs him." Bob looked at me with doubt in his eyes, and I nodded encouragingly. "Please." I whispered. Bob looked at me one last time, then took off towards Percy, hitting the _aria_ with his broom.

Percy had stood up by this point, but was to weak to support his weight, and collapsed back to the ground. Annabeth was wandering blindly, calling out for Percy, asking why he'd abandoned her. Bob walked over to her and touched her forehead. The white in her eyes disappeared, and she looked around wildly before spotting Percy. "What's wrong with him?" She asked, crying. "Can you fix him? Like you did with my blindness? Fix _Percy_!" I watched as Bob placed his hand on Percy's chest, then withdraw it.

"Tartarus kills demi-gods," Bob explained. What the hell was a demi-god? "It heals monsters, but you do not belong. Tartarus will not heal Percy. The pit hates your kind."

"I know!" Annabeth snapped. "Bob, I'm going on with or without you, Are you coming?" I saw Bob hesitate, so I stepped forward and put my hand on his. I looked at him with pleading eyes, and nodded as if to say, _please, Bob. You know this is the right thing to do._ Bob seemed to get my message, because he picked Percy up and slung him over his shoulder.

"Alright." Bob said. Annabeth managed a smile through her tears. She stood up.

"Right. Come on then."She said, and started walking. At that moment I had an idea. I knew who could help us.


	9. Damasen

Chapter 8

"Wait, guys." I called after Annabeth and Bob, "I know where we have to go."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"I know someone who can help us. Don't freak out when you meet him. I promise he's good. Just follow me." I took of at a light jog, and Annabeth and Bob started following.

"Where are we going?" Annabeth asked, "Who is it that can help us?"

"A... friend. I stayed with him for ages when I fell down here. He took care of me, made sure I was safe."

"Right. A nice person. In Tartarus. I can see that happening."

"No, really. I know it seems unbelievable, but please, you just have to trust me." Annabeth looked at me with narrowed eyes, then said:

"Ok. Alright. I guess we don't have a choice." Percy was murmuring nonsensical things behind us, slung over Bob's shoulder, and I heard him say 'Annabeth' a couple of times. He was fading, fast. I saw the familiar entrance to his hut, the bones and leather.

"Hey! Are you there? It's me, Isabella!" I stepped forward and poked my head into the hut, looking round. He wasn't in.

"He must be doing his duties." I explained when Annabeth shot me a questioning look. Bob looked so excited that I thought he was going to burst.

"Bob has missed this place." He said. At that moment, what sounded like hoof beats sounded on the floor behind us. Annabeth spun round, startled, and came face to face with the drakon.

" _What_ is _that_?" Annabeth asked in an incredulous tone.

"A Maeonian drakon," Bob said in way of explanation, "From Maeonia." Annabeth looked terrified, and I saw a subtle change in her posture. She was getting ready to fight it. The love she had for Percy... it brought tears to my eyes. She would defend him to the death. In the little time I'd known them, down here in Tartarus, it had been like they were joined at the hip. It was sweet. I stepped forward and put my hands on Annabeth's shoulders.

"Annabeth, it's ok. He'll come in a second and kill it."

" _WHO_ IS _HE?_ " Annabeth yelled at me. Just then, I saw him on the horizon. He thundered over, and with a roar he whacked the drakon's neck with his fist. The drakon went limp. Then, the giant turned to look at me.

"Isabella?" He said, in a disbelieving tone, then came over and gave me a hearty pat on the back. "I was worried something had got you!"

"Hello to you too." I smiled at him, then turned to look at Annabeth. "Annabeth," I said "Meet Damasen. He can heal Percy."


	10. Healing Percy and godly parentage

Chapter 9

I watched as Damasen plodded about the hut, throwing things in the cauldron. I knew he would be able to find the cure for the gorgon's blood. He had a look of concentration on his face that made me giggle. He was in his element. He heard me laugh and looked at me.

"Isabella,what is so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing. It's just... it's been years since I've seen you. I'd forgotten about some of the little things

you do."

"What little things?"

I went to reply with 'It doesn't matter',but Annabeth interrupted me.

"Look, I'm sorry to sound rude, but do you have the cure yet? His temperature's through the roof. He can't die." I heard her voice crack on the word ' _die_ '. Damasen sighed.

"So impatient, you are. But yes, it's ready." He scooped a ladle of liquid out of the cauldron, and made a start towards Percy.

"You're going to feed him _that_?" Annabeth asked, incredulously.

"Annabeth," I cut her off gently "Let him. Trust me, he knows what he's doing." I watched as Damasen poured the liquid into Percy's mouth.

There was a tense wait as Percy sipped more and more of the broth. Each time he took a sip, a little more colour returned to his cheeks. I held my breath, waiting for him to say something. He finished the ladle of broth, turned to Annabeth, and said with a drunk look on his face "Feel great." Then he fell unconscious. I saw Annabeth move toward him, but Damasen held his hand out to stop her.

"A few hours of sleep and he'll be good as new." Damasen pronounced. Annabeth sobbed, then took three deep breaths and said

"Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me," Damasen said, as he looked at her mournfully, "You're still doomed."

"Damasen!" I hissed, raising my eyebrows at him. He looked at me as if to say _'What? It's the truth.'_. He sat down and said

"It's going to be a wait." Annabeth nodded and sat down too.

After a couple of minutes, all of us sat in silence, I noticed Annabeth stealing glances at me. "Are you alright?" I tried to ask in a way that I hoped didn't offend her.

"Yeah." She said, quickly looking away, then looking back at me again, "It's just, who's your godly parent? You've got to be a demi-god, to have survived this long." There was that word again. _Demi-god._

"What's a demi-god?" I asked her. She looked surprised.

"You don't know you're a demi-god?" She looked thoughtful, then said "Well if you didn't know you're a demi-god, you definitely won't know your godly parent. Which parent did you have, back up there? Mother or father?"

"Mother." I replied.

"Ok, that narrows it down a little. Means your godly parents a guy. Judging from your blonde hair, and blue eyes,I'd place abet on Apollo. It's not great to guess these things on looks, but his children often have that combination."

"Apollo... he's the sun god, right? And, like, the god of music and stuff?" Annabeth nodded.

"Have you ever healed faster than normal?" She asked. I thought of all the wounds I'd survived while down here.

"I never really thought about it, but I guess I _do_ heal pretty quickly." I told her.

"Yeah," she said, and tugged at her braid thoughtfully, "Then I'd say Apollo's a pretty safe bet. We can't know for sure though, not until you've been claimed.

" _Claimed_?" I repeated back to her.

"Yeah," she said, stifling a yawn, "Claimed. It's when your godly parent tells everyone you're theirs. It's like this... this holographic sign that appears above your head." She yawned as she said it.

"Holographic?" I asked, not knowing what it was, then shook my head as she stifled yet another yawn. "Forget it. You need to rest. Sleep now. Damasen, Bob and I will keep watch." Annabeth looked doubtful, but then must have decided that she needed the sleep, because she turned onto her side and shut her eyes. Soon, she was asleep. I turned and lent against Damasen, looking out of the entrance of the hut and waiting for Percy to wake up.


	11. Asking for help

Chapter 10

Annabeth woke up before Percy. I watched as she glanced over at him, looking worried and disappointed when she discovered that he hadn't woken up. Damasen noticed that Annabeth had woken from her slumber. He cleared his throat and said "You know, I require payment for my services." I saw Annabeth's face go white. I elbowed Damasen. How could he be so stupid? She was obviously distressed. I admired her courage when she nodded her head and said

"Uh... what sort of payment?" I looked at Damasen, hoping that it wouldn't be too heavy a price to pay. I wanted to say that she was my _friend_ , and that _of course_ there was no charge, but Damasen got there before me.

"A story. It gets boring in Tartarus. You can tell me your story while we eat, eh?" he said,with a twinkle in his eye. Annabeth nodded, and Damasen went and poured out four bowls of Drakon stew, one for him, one for me, one for Annabeth and one for Bob.

I listened intently as Annabeth told us about her previous adventures with Percy. They'd returned _the_ lightening bolt to Zeus, found _the_ golden fleece, been trapped on Circe's island, Annabeth had given up immortality for Percy, heck, Percy had been offered the opportunity of becoming a _god._ I looked at the teenager sleeping on the floor beside us. I could definitely believe that they'd done all of those things. You could see it on their bodies, but I could see it more in their eyes. Both of them had an air about them, like they'd had to grow up too quickly, like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. From what Annabeth told me about her time with Atlas, the man who holds up the sky, I supposed they literally both had at one point.

I stole a glance at Bob as Annabeth explained the circumstances around him losing his memory, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't seem to have much of one,he just picked up his bowl and cleaned it with his squirt bottle and rag.

I was shocked when she explained about the quest she was on right now, with Percy and five other demi-gods, travelling on a boat called the _Argo II_. They were just _kids_ , and they had to save the world from the threat that was Mother Earth. I heard her voice falter as she mentioned Gaia. "She's um... she's your mom, right?" She asked Damasen.

"Yes," Damasen replied as he scraped his bowl, "And Tartarus is my father. As you can see," he gestured around him, "I was a disappointment to my parents. They expected... _more_ from me."

"So...," Annabeth asked, "You don't mind us fighting your mom?" I already knew the answer would be _go for it._ Damasen had told me his story during the time I had been living with him, and I knew that he did _not_ have a good relationship with his mother. Damasen snorted.

"Best of luck," Damasen told her, "At present, it's my father you should worry about. With him opposing you, you have no chance to survive." From the look on Annabeth's face, I suddenly realised that she didn't know about Tartarus being, well, _literally_ Tartarus. Or at least, one manifestation of him.

I sat in silence as Damasen explained to Annabeth about Tartarus being Tartarus, and how he was trying to thwart them with every step they took. When Annabeth told him about trying to close the doors of death, Damasen laughed.

"Impossible," he told her, "The doors are too well guarded."

Annabeth frowned. "But you know where they are?"

"Of course," Damasen boasted, "But you cannot make it there alive with only Iapetus."

"Then come with us," Annabeth replied, "Help us."

Damasen laughed again at that,and I head Percy mutter 'ha ha ha' deliriously in his sleep.

"Child of Athena," he told her "I am not your friend. I helped mortals once, and you see where it got me." Annabeth looked confused, so Damasen went on explaining about his mortal friend who was killed by a drakon. I zoned out. Annabeth was a child of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. I didn't know how I knew that she was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, I just did. That gave me hope. If anyone could get us out of Tartarus, it would be her, with her knowledge. I made a mental note to ask Percy about his godly parentage at some point.

After Damasen's speech, I realised how tired I felt. I looked to Annabeth. Despite the two hours she'd just grabbed, she looked as bad as before. "Annabeth," I said, "We should get some sleep. We're going to need to be fully rested if we're going to survive the rest of this." Annabeth's eyes narrowed, but I saw her resolve crumble. I turned to Damasen.

"Can you keep watch again?" I asked him. He nodded. Yawning, I turned onto my side, and slept.

 _ **A/N: Hi guys! I don't know how regularly I'll be updating because I start school again tomorrow. I have a lot of exams at the moment! I'll try to update at least once a week, but hopefully something like every other day. Thanks for the reviews I've received already, sorry for begging for them lmao**_


	12. I want to say hello to the stars again

Chapter 11

I woke up before Annabeth, but her eyes flew open as soon as I moved. I guessed it must have been a response to the danger she usually found herself in. I could hear Bob and Damasen talking so I slowly moved a finger to my lips to make sure Annabeth didn't say anything.

"And if you cannot guide them past Night?" I heard Damasen ask.

"I have to." Bob replied.

"Why? What have the demi-gods given you? They have erased your old self, everything you were. Titans and giants... we are meant to be the foes of the gods and their children. Are we not?"

"Then why did you help Isabella? And heal the boy?" Bob asked in reply. _Go Bob!_ I thought.

"I think..." Damasen hesitated for a second, then continued, "I think I find these three demigods intriguing. They are resilient to have made it this far, especially Isabella. That is admirable. Still, how can we help them any further? It is not our fate."

Perhaps." Bob sounded uncomfortable. "But... do you like our fate?"

Damasen chortled. "What a question. Does anyone like his fate?"

"I liked being Bob, before I started to remember..." the conversation trailed off. I still held my finger to my lips, and Annbeth gave a small nod. After a couple of minutes, Bob said "Damasen, do you remember the sun?"

I heard the giant exhale through his nose. "Yes." he replied. "It was yellow. When it touched the horizon, it turned the sky beautiful colours."

"I miss the sun. The stars too. I would like to say hello to the stars again."

At that touching moment, the drakon roared and Percy sat bolt upright. Annabeth leapt up.

"What? What- where- what?" He sounded confused, and slightly scared. Annabeth reached him and wrapped her arms round his shoulders.

"It's okay." She told him, but he was still very alert.

"That noise... where are we?"

"How much do you remember?" Annabeth asked him. I noticed that all his cuts had healed. Damasen could do great things.

"I- the demon grandmothers- and then... not much."

Damasen interjected there. "There is no time, little mortals. The drakon is returning. I fear its roar will draw the others- my brethren, hunting you. They will be here within minutes."

"What will you tell them when they get here?" I asked, concerned. Damasen smiled at me.

"What is there to tell? Nothing of significance, as long as you are gone. With that he tossed three drakon leather backpacks, one to me, one to Annabeth, and one to Percy.

"Clothes, food, drink." He explained. I noticed that Bob was wearing a similar, although larger, backpack.

Annabeth looked like she was thinking hard, then I saw her face light up. "The Prophecy of Seven." _I'm sorry,_ I thought, _the prophecy of_ what _?_ Percy climbed out of his bed and frowned.

"What about it?" He asked.

"You _have_ to come with us. The prophecy says _foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_. I thought it meant Romans and Greeks, but that's not it. The line means _us-_ demigods, a Titan, a giant. We _need_ you to close the doors."

"I cannot, child." Damasen said in response. "My fate is here."

"Then find _another_ fate."

Damasen shook his head.

"Look at me! Remember my face. When you're ready, come find me. We'll take you to the mortal world with us. You can see the sunlight and stars."

I heard Polybotes call to his followers in the distance. "THE SEA GOD'S SON! HE IS CLOSE!"

"Annabeth," Percy said urgently, grabbing her hand, "That's our cue to leave." I thoroughly agreed with him.

"Wait." Damasen said, and he pulled something out of his belt. It was a drakon bone sword, a larger version of my dagger. It was honed to a deadly edge and had a leather grip. Annabeth took it gratefully.

"One last gift for the child of Athena. I cannot have you walking to your death unarmed. Now, go! Before it is too late." Annabeth looked like she wanted to cry.

"We must leave." Bob said, and Percy agreed.

"He's right, Annabeth."

We ran for the entrance. I didn't look back, but it broke my heart when I heard Damasen's voice crack as he roared his battle cry, advancing towards the drakon, his old enemy, yet again.

 _ **A/N- By the way, I completely forgot to do this but all credit for the PJO universe goes to Rick Riordan. The only thing that's mine is Isabella. Whew, this was a long chapter. Enjoy!**_


	13. Akhlys

Chapter 12

We followed Bob as he guided us to our next destination. Just when I wanted to ask where we were actually going, Bob stopped. We had entered a clearing, and, not twenty yards away, I saw a woman kneeling. Her body was gruesome- twisted, blemished, broken, and she was so thin she looked like the victim of a famine. She was crying. Everything about her made me body feel empty, yet heavy. I felt like I couldn't breathe properly.

"We're here," Bob announced. "Akhlys can help."

Akhlys. The goddess of misery. My train of thought stopped in its track. _How did I know that?_ Akhlys lifted her head, and I almost physically wretched. I couldn't help the quiet, mumbled " _Abbi piet_ _à_ _della mia anima_ " that escaped my lips. Her eyes were sunken into her skull,and tears were running from them like water from a tap. Her thin grey hair was matted and her cheeks bled as if she'd been clawing at them.

I noticed that she had Hercules shield. My train of thought stopped _again_. How on _earth_ did I know that? Percy asked her how she came to have it. Akhlys replied with

"He doesn't need it anymore, does he? It came here when his mortal body was burned. A reminder, I suppose, that no shield is sufficient. In the end, misery overtakes all of you. Even Hercules."

I swallowed, hard. Despite the fact that I'd been down here on my own for 71 years, I'd never felt misery like this. I counted myself lucky. Maybe someone _had_ been watching over me, after all. Protecting me from this. _No._ I shook the thought from my head. _That's not possible. Don't be stupid, Isabella._

Percy leaned over to Bob.

"Bob, we shouldn't have come here." But Bob shook his head firmly, standing his ground.

"Akhlys controls the Death Mist. She can hide you." He informed us.

" _Hide_ them?" Akhlys interrupted. "Why would I do that?" She made a gurgling sound that I assumed was meant to be a laugh.

"They must reach the Doors of Death. To return to the mortal world." Bob said, like it was obvious.

"Impossible! The armies of Tartarus will find you. They will kill you."

I was desperately trying to come up with a plan in my head, of how to persuade her to help us. That was when I heard Annabeth baiting her, insulting her Death Mist. That girl was an _unstoppable_ force when she wanted to be.

"I didn't walk halfway across Tartarus to be told what's impossible by some minor goddess." _That_ was the moment I decided I admired Annabeth. She always seemed to know exactly what to do.

"Minor goddess?" Akhlys shrieked. I decided to go along with Annabeth's plan as the misery goddess launched herself into a rant. I rolled my eyes at her.

" _E sono nata da Maria. E allora?"_ I taunted. I noticed Annabeth look at me with narrowed eyes, and realised I had been talking in Italian. I corrected myself, in English this time.

"And I was born of Maria. So what?" I asked her. Akhlys screamed, and I had to stop myself from flinching. I looked at her right in her hollow eyes. She looked away from me, instead turning to Bob, glaring at him.

"Why did you inflict these annoying children on me? The Death Mist is not for _helping_! It shrouds mortals in misery as their souls pass into the underworld. It is the very breath of Tartarus, of death, of despair!"

"Awesome," Percy replied. "Could we get three orders to go?"

Akhlys hissed at him, and started offering up poisons, saying they would give us a less painful death than the one we had chosen. Percy interrupted her.

"That's very nice of you," he said, "But I've had enough poison for one trip. Now, can you hide us in your Death Mist, or not?"

"Yeah,"Annabeth agreed, "It'll be fun."

" _Fun?_ " The goddess narrowed her eyes.

"Sure. If we fail, think how great it would be for you, gloating over our spirits when we die in agony. You'll get to say _I told you so_ for eternity."

Akhlys considered this. "I enjoy suffering. Wailing is also good."

"Then it's settled." I said. "Make us invisible."

I watched as Akhlys struggled to get to her feet. She got right up to my face, and my misery increased tenfold.

"It is not so simple. The Death Mist comes at the moment you are closest to your end. Your eyes will be clouded only then. The world will fade."

I struggled to keep my voice steady, but answered her. I'd come too far now to turn back. This was my chance to finally escape Tartarus.

"Okay." I said. "But... we'll be shrouded from the monsters?"

Akhlys nodded, but added an ominous warning. "If you survive the process." She said. "Come, I will show you the way."

"The way to where, exactly?" Annabeth asked, but the goddess was already shuffling away, into the gloom. I took a deep breath, and followed. Annabeth and Percy walked after me. As soon as we started walking, Bob disappeared.

"Hey!" I yelled to Akhlys. "Where's our friend?"

"He cannot take this path. He is not mortal. Come, little fools." She called to us. "Come, experience the Death Mist."

I heard Annabeth exhale, and go to comfort Percy. "Well..." she said, "How bad can it be?"

Percy laughed at that. I could tell they must really love each other, for her to be able to make him laugh in the misery goddess's presence.

"Yeah." I heard him reply. "Next date, though- dinner in New Rome."

That made _me_ crack a smile, and it was at that moment I realised that I'd made my first friends in 71 years. And there was no one that I would rather follow a miserable goddess into the Death Mist with.

 _ **A/N- So, I'm not sure, but I might just skip to the meeting with Night next. I've been trying to follow the book and include all events, but I would like to start writing my own part, when Isabella finally gets to Camp Half-Blood. I hope that's ok with you guys.**_

 _ **Also, sorry if I don't update as often as you'd like! School's hectic at the moment and I have a lot of work to do, but I will try to update as regularly as possible. It's a lot of fun writing this, and it's kinda therapeutic. OK, this is a looong author's note, so I'm gonna stop now. See you!**_


	14. Clearing the air

**A/N- Hi guys! This is just a quick chapter to clear the air on some stuff. A friend I know who is reading this fic asked me to explain how some of the things were possible, so here's some answers. Heads up, some of these may not follow what Rick Riordan has said, but it's how I imagined it. I hope that's ok!**

 **1) Isabella had never encountered the** ** _aria_** **before because she'd never killed a monster while in the mortal world, so nothing had been able to place a** ** _strong_** **curse on her (strong meaning strong enough to attract the aria), but once they attacked, all the little curses that had been put on her by monsters she killed in Tartarus came to life.**

 **2) Damasen never told Isabella about the gods because he's a giant, so he doesn't much like them anyway, but he also assumed she kinda just...** ** _knew_** **. He thought that if she'd fallen into Tartarus, it must be because of the gods. Because he apposes Ares, he is peaceful, and he didn't want to start an argument or annoy her by mentioning them.**

 **3) The monsters couldn't smell that Isabella was a demigod because she's never been claimed, and she hasn't yet fully realised her powers. Also, she's been in Tartarus for 71 years, and only spent 15 years in the mortal world, so she kind of just smells like Tartarus and all the other monsters now. Also, I hate to drop this in there, but... think of Smelly Gabe. His scent covered Percy's demigod scent, right? Well, there aren't any showers in Tartarus, and she's been there for 71 years so... yeah, she covers her own scent. And it's good because it's saved her life XD**

 **4) Damasen hasn't told Isabella her godly parent yet because he doesn't know it yet himelf. Her godly parent will be revealed in a later chapter, and probably make it clear how no one knew who it was.**

 **A/N- I want to play a game. This totally isn't me begging for reviews, but I think it would be fun for you guys to try and guess who Isabella's godly parent is. I don't know if I've made it obvious or not, so let's see who gets it right! XD**


	15. Nyx

Chapter 13

I had expected it after the Death Mist covered Percy, Annabeth, and I. Akhlys had attacked us, but Percy got us out if it. He had the ingenious idea of shouting happy things at her, and I don't know how I hadn't thought of it yet. Make the literal form of Misery miserable by being happy. She was miserable now. Ironic.

We'd trekked through Tartarus for days, getting weaker by the second. Being shrouded in Death Mist was weird. We all looked literally dead, and I was so used to being attacked that I felt uneasy when almost nothing came at us. But I knew it wouldn't last. We'd been warned, and now she was here. Nyx. Night, personified.

She was forty feet tall. Huge wings protruded from her back, and she rode in a chariot pulled by what looked like vampire horses. She struck them with a whip made of stars. Her dress was black, and decorated with space nebulas. When she flapped her wings, waves of darkness rolled off of them. It made me feel heavy and tired, and I could feel my eyelids drooping.

I shook my head to stay awake. ' _You cannot sleep,'_ I told myself. ' _That's what she wants.'_ I could hear Annabeth and Percy talking to her, and I focused on formulating a plan in my head. I laughed at the appropriate times, and nodded when I thought necessary, so it didn't seem too obvious that I was up to something.

Suddenly, I heard Nyx laugh, and thousands upon thousands of dark creatures came pouring from behind her. I noticed Percy and Annabeth's breathing shallow, and I knew I had to come up with something, quick.

"Hey!" I yelled, and a thousand heads swivelled round to look at me. "So Nyx," I said, as casually as I could in this situation, "Who's your favourite child?"

Her eyes narrowed. "My favourite child?" She asked, slightly shocked at the question. " _All_ my children are terrifying."

I snorted at that. "They are?" I said. I turned to the nearest creature and asked it "Who would you say causes the most pain?"

"I am the darkest." It hissed. "Wars and strife! I have caused all manner of death!"

It worked like a dream. All the creatures started arguing among themselves about who was the darkest. I ran over to Percy and Annabeth, who looked confused, and, I was embarrassed to admit, slightly in awe of me.

The place grew darker and darker as the creatures argued. I took the opportunity to slip away in the dark, grabbing Percy and Annabeth's hands and dragging them along with me. The darkness was the perfect cover. I heard one of the creatures yell "It's a trick! The demigods are escaping!" just as we reached. I hesitated. I hoped that this worked.

"JUMP!" I told them, and we leapt off the cliff ledge.

 _ **A/N- Sorry for the short chapter! Life's a bit hectic at the moment, but I'm enjoying writing this and I'll try to update as often as possible. Thanks for all the followers of this story by the way! It makes me so happy to know that people are enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. See you in the next update!**_


	16. The Heart of Tartarus

Chapter 14

I wasn't aware that Percy was a son of Poseidon, but thank goodness he was. As we ran, I noticed Annabeth speed up. She was scared- heck, I was scared and I'd been down here a lifetime. It was as Annabeth sped up that Percy threw his arms out to stop us. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Annabeth tipped forward, falling, and she let out a yelp. I gasped and jumped forward, but Percy was closer. He grabbed her waist and tugged her back,pulling her into an embrace. "It's okay." Percy whispered soothingly, and I could see Annabeth visibly shaking. Percy stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as he whispered reassurance. After a few moments, Annabeth disentangled herself from Percy's arms.

"Thanks," she said. She took a breath to compose herself, then continued. "Can you tell what's in front of us?"

"Water," he replied. "I'm still not looking. I don't think it's safe yet. I can sense a river... or maybe it's a moat. It's blocking our path, flowing left to right through a channel cut in the rock. The opposite side is about twenty feet away."

I held up my hand to stop him. "How do you know all this?" I asked. He had to be just guessing.

"I can sense the water." He said in a confused tone, like it should be obvious. When I furrowed my brow, he looked even more confused. "I'm a son of Poseidon." He explained, and my eyes widened.

"Poseidon?" I asked, incredulously. "But isn't he one of the... _come si chiama_... ah, big three?"

Percy nodded. "Santo cielo, é fantastico!" I exclaimed. That would explain Polybotes yelling 'THE SEA GOD'S SON.' I could be dumb sometimes. Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance, and I realised that I had slipped back into my native dialect, but I couldn't be bothered to explain myself. We were silent for a few moments, then Percy nodded and said:

"Yeah, it is pretty cool sometimes, I guess." I looked at him.

"You speak Italian?"

He nodded. "My ex-stepfather was Italian. I picked up a little bit of it. But we haven't got time for life stories now." He turned to start running, when he held up his hand again.

"Can you hear that? I think there's something wrong with the water." I listened hard, and heard it. Voices. Thousands of them, millions of them. _It was an accident!_ They groaned. _The Pain! Make it stop!_

 _"Oh merda."_ I said under my breath. "The river Acheron. The fifth river of the underworld." I told them. "It's the river of pain," I explained, "The ultimate punishment for the souls of the damned- murderers, especially."

 _Murderers!_ I heard the voices wail. _Like you! Join us._ They wailed. Images flashed in my mind of all the monsters I'd killed. The voices wanted me to jump into the river, and I started wanting to myself. But I knew what to do. I had to ignore them. I grabbed Percy and Annabeth's arms.

"You can't listen to them." I said. "I know it's hard, I'm struggling too, but we have to get away."

Percy shook his head, like he was trying to shake the voices out. "I think this moat must be the border of Night's territory. If we get across, we should be okay. We'll have to jump."

I stepped back, my eyebrows raised. "You said it was twenty feet!" I argued.

"Yeah, you'll have to trust me. Grab onto my shoulders and hang on."

"How can you possibly-" I began, but was cut off by a voice behind us yelling;

"There! Kill the ungrateful tourists!" The children of Nyx had found us. I took a deep breath, grabbed Percy's shoulder, and readied myself. Annabeth was already gripping his other shoulder. He took a step back, took a run up, and jumped.

I don't know how he got us across. Maybe he used the river somehow, with him being the son of Poseidon, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that after a few seconds in mid air, I felt my feet hit the ground, and bent my knees to absorb the impact. Annabeth opened her eyes cautiously, and gasped as she took in her surroundings. I knew this was not good. Even Night's territory was better than this.

"The heart of Tartarus." I heard Annabeth murmur, and I nodded. I could see what looked like fuzzy black dots all over the horizon, and I realized that they were monsters. Thousands and thousands of monsters.

"The Doors of Death?" I asked, and Percy and Annabeth nodded. I swallowed hard. We stood there, in silence, when I heard a rockslide coming from the hills to our left. I grabbed my dagger, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Percy and Annabeth raising their swords. That was when I saw a shock of glowing white hair appear, then pure silver eyes. "Bob?" I asked, shocked.

"Friends!" Came the reply, and I smiled as the friendly Titan lumbered towards us. I noticed his slashed janitor's uniform, and his burned broom, but despite whatever he'd been through, he looked delighted to see us. He gathered all three of us into a hug that felt like it was going to crack my ribs as he said "I found you! You look like smoking dead people. That is good!"

"How did you get here? Through the mansion of Night?" Percy asked as Bob put us down.

"No, no." Bob shook his head hard. "That place is too scary. Another way- only good for Titans and such."

"Let me guess. You went sideways?" Annabeth asked, in a bantering tone. Bob scratched his chin.

"Hmm. No. More... _diagonal._ I laughed, and Annabeth joined in. She kissed Bob on his nose, and he went cross eyed, and blinked.

"We stay together now?" He asked.

"Yes." I agreed. "Time to see if this Death Mist works."

"And if it doesn't..." Percy began, then stopped himself. We all knew here was no point wondering about that. Despite everything, I looked around, and we all seemed to be smiling. We were facing almost certain death, with a Titan who had turned nice, and a massive, meowing, black cat. The outlook looked good.

"Doors of Death," Annabeth said, "Here we come."

 _ **A/N- Hello! Sorry that it's been so long since the last update. I've decided to set a realistic goal. I'm going to try to update at least once a month, but hopefully every two weeks. Shout out to my friend at school who's keeping me motivated to write this! You know who you are. Also, I realised that I've only done this on one chapter, but:**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: All rights go to Rick Riordan. The only original character in this is Isabella, but everything else is based on Rick Riordan's work.**_

 _ **OK, until the next update, peace out!**_


	17. Why do I trust these strangers?

Chapter 15

It was weird. I kept looking down at my body, but it almost wasn't there. And I felt like my consciousness was... fading away along with my body. It was distressing.

In front of us, lining the horizon, were thousands and thousands of monsters. The sight took my breath away. I had to admit... for the first time in _years_ , I was scared of the monsters. And what's more, instead of trying to avoid them, I was walking right into the middle of them. My mind was racing with thoughts. 'Cosa sto facendo? Questo è così stupido! Perché mi fido di due ... due estranei che non riescono nemmeno a dimostrare di essere chi dicono di essere?' But as soon as that last thought hit my mind, my brain went blank, and I kept walking.

As we approached the nearest monster, Bob ushered us behind his back. "Stay quiet and stay behind me. They will not notice you." he told us.

"We hope." Percy muttered. Annabeth shot him a look as if to say, ' _Seriously, man? Not helping.'_ I agreed with her. Then, she took a deep intake of breath and said:

"Bob, if we're invisible... how can _you_ see us? I mean, you're technically, you know..."

"Yes," Bob replied, "but we are friends."

"But Nyx and her children could see us." I interjected. Bob shrugged.

"That was in Nyx's realm. This is different." That seemed to be all the explaining we were going to get. Bob started walking again, and all three of us followed.

As we walked, we saw monsters fighting with each other and quarelling. It wasn't an unusual sight, most monsters were pretty dumb, and argued amongst themselves. As we walked past a six armed Earthborn and a Laistrygonian giant fighting, Annabeth nudged Percy. "Look!" She hissed under her breath. I looked as well, and saw a guy in a stetson, extra-large blue jeans, and black leather boots, whipping some horses made of fire. His upper body was split into three different chests, each one wearing a different coloured Western shirt. Percy looked slightly shocked. I frowned.

"Do you guys know him or something?"

Annabeth nodded at me. "That's Geyron," Percy explained. "I killed him about two years ago."

I suddenly wondered just how many enemies the couple had lurking in the crowd, and then thought about how many enemies I had. I'd killed my fair share of monsters in my time down here, and I knew from the _arai_ that a lot of them were pissed at me for it.

I saw Percy sneak a despairing glance at Annabeth. I realised that this would be extra difficult for the two of them. They were stubborn. Neither one of them was going to let the other die. And _I_ wasn't going to let them die either. Even if it meant sacrificing myself, I could tell they couldn't live without each other. I wondered again why I trusted both of them so much, and a piercing sound sliced through my brain. I let out a yelp, and Percy and Annabeth quickly turned to look at me. A couple of the monsters surrounding us looked around as well, trying to locate the source of the noise, but they couldn't see us.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked, a look of concern on her face.

I gritted my teeth and exhaled, waiting for the pain to subside, When it finally did, I nodded. "Yeah," I said, "I'm fine." As I said that, I saw Percy grimace.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, worried.

"Nothing," Percy replied, "I was just-". He was cut off at that moment by a big, deep voice that bellowed:

"IAPETUS!"

Oh crap.

 _ **A/N- Hi! It's been a while. No, I am not abandoning this piece of work, it's just, life takes up time, ya know? I'm so sorry that this update took so long, but it's here now, yay! I would say that I'll try and update again this week, but I'm not making any promises that I don't know if I can keep. However, I can promise that the next chapter will be up within a month, and that's an Alaya guarantee! Also, sorry for the weird text size change, I couldn't figure out how to get it back to normal lol. Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter, you're pretty great!**_

 _ **Until next time, peace out!**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: All rights go to Rick Riordan. The only original character in this is Isabella, but everything else is based on Rick Riordan's work.**_


	18. Doors of Death, here we come

Chapter 16

A Titan strode towards us, kicking other monsters out of his way as he approached. He was the same height as Bob, and had a helmet shaped like a bear under his arm. His hair was short and white, and his eyes looked like ice. He had a diamond in the middle of his breastplate. He stopped in front of Bob and clapped him on the shoulder. "Iapetus! Don't tell me you don't recognise your own brother!"

"No!" Bob said, and he sounded nervous. I crossed my fingers and prayed that he wouldn't mess this up. "I won't tell you that." The other Titan threw his head back and laughed.

"I heard you were thrown into the Lethe. Must have been terrible! We all knew you would heal eventually. It's Koios! Koios!"

"Of course, Koios, the Titan of..." Bob trailed off, and looked like he was thinking hard.

"The North!" Koios said.

"I know!" Bob shouted. They laughed, and took turns to hit each other in the arm. I looked towards Percy and Annabeth, wondering if they had a plan for what we should do. It didn't look like they did. Bob and Koios kept reminiscing about the 'good old days', but I wasn't really listening. I was looking at the horizon, at all of the thousands and thousands of monsters that swarmed around the Doors of Death. I closed my eyes and started to formulate a plan in my head. With Percy's powers, and Annabeth's knowledge, and whatever the hell it was that I could do with the shadows, maybe we had a chance of getting through. I could finally get out of this hell hole. Although there would be no one left there that I knew, not anymore.

I was jolted back to reality by Koios chest bumping Bob and saying "Well! I'll see you in the mortal world! Oh, and our two _other_ brothers are guarding this side of the Doors, so you'll see them soon enough!"

"I will?" Bob asked.

"Count on it!" Koios said as he lumbered off. He got dangerously close to Percy and Annabeth, but they scrambled out of his way.

Percy motioned for Bob to lean in.

"You okay, big guy?" Percy whispered. Bob frowned.

"I do not know. In all this-" he gestured around us- "what is the meaning of _okay_?" My heart clenched. I never imagined that one day I would feel sorry for a _Titan_ , but at this moment, I did. He wasn't a monster anymore. He didn't deserve to be in Tartarus. I made a vow to myself in that moment that I would try my hardest to get him back to the mortal world with us.

"Do you remember Koios?" Percy asked, gently. "All that stuff he was talking about?"

"When he told it, I remembered. He handed me my past like... like a spear. But I do not know if I should take it. Is it still mine, if I do not want it?" Bob looked Percy in his eyes.

"No," Bob turned to look at Annabeth. "Bob, you're different now. You're _better_."

"And it's not the past that matters," I added, "It's the future. And you get to decide what you want your future to look like, Bob."

"Future.." Bob mused. "That is a mortal concept. I am not meant to change, Isabella Friend." He looked around at the hordes of monsters that surrounded us. "We are the same... forever."

"If you were the same," Percy interrupted, "Annabeth, Isabella, and I would be dead already. Maybe we weren't meant to be friends, but we _are_. You've been the best friend we could ask for." Bob's eyes looked darker than usual. He held out his hand, and Small Bob jumped onto his palm. Bob rose to his full height.

"Let us go, then, friends. Not much further."

We stomped towards the doors. It was hard, the ground was pulsing beneath our feet. Percy tripped, and his hands fell upon a red artery. He gasped at the contact, then said "There's water in here. Actual water." Bob grunted.

"One of the five rivers. His blood."

"His _blood_?" Annabeth stepped away from the nearest clump of veins. "I knew the Underworld rivers emptied into Tartarus, but-"

"Yes," Bob agreed. "They all flow into his heart." I watched as Percy ran his fingers over a web of capillaries.

"We should hurry." I said. "If we can't-" I trailed off. There were jagged streaks of darkness in the air- like lightning, but pure black. It gave me a rush of energy, made me feel... _stronger_. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"The Doors." Bob said. "Must be a large group going through."

"Do _all_ the monsters go through the House of Hades? How big _is_ that place?" Percy asked.

"Perhaps they are sent elsewhere when they step through. The House of Hades is in the earth, yes? That is Gaia's realm. She could send her minions wherever she wishes." The name _Gaia_ sent a chill up my spine. I'd heard the name in passing recently, when I was fighting monsters. They kept promising me that _Gaia_ would get me.

"If Gaia has that much power, couldn't she control where _we_ end up?" Annabeth asked. Bob scratched his chin.

"You are not monsters," he replied, "It may be different for you." But... didn't Bob count as a monster? Because he was a Titan? Did that mean that he might not end up where we did if he came into the Doors of Death with us? I shook the idea from my head. He'd done so much for me, despite barely knowing me. He _was_ coming with us. He had to. Bob helped us over the top of another ridge, and suddenly the Doors were in full view. They were around a quarter of a mile away, surrounded by a horde of monsters so thick, I could have used there heads as a footpath to the Doors. There were Titans flanking either side of them. The one on the left had golden armour that radiated heat. A name popped into my head. _Hyperion._ Just as I thought of the name, Percy said it aloud.

"Hyperion. That guy just won't stay dead." Percy muttered. The other Titan had dark blue armour, with ram's horns curling from the sides of his helmet. Another name popped into my head. _Krios._ I had no clue how I knew what the Titan's were called, but that didn't matter right now. I could dwell on that later. Right now, I had to focus on getting to the doors.

"Bob's other brothers." Annabeth said. The Death Mist shimmered around her, temporarily turning her face into a grinning skull. "Bob, if you have to fight them, can you?" Bob hefted his broom. "We must hurry," he said. I noticed that that wasn't really an answer, but I didn't want to push the question. His head had been messed with enough, I just hoped that he'd be on our side when it really mattered. "Follow me." he said.

We followed.

 _ **A/N- Hola mis amigos! Sorry for the long pause, but here's an extra long chapter to make up for it. I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: All rights go to Rick Riordan. The only original character in this is Isabella, but everything else is based on Rick Riordan's work.**_


	19. Am I as happy as I should be to leave?

There were monsters _everywhere._ I'd been in Tartarus for over 70 years apparently, and I'd never seen this many monsters in one place. I wondered, not for the first time, why Damasen hadn't told me about this. Annabeth, at the front of the group, held up a hand to stop us. "Ok," she started "plan of attack. Bob, we're going to need you to use your broom. Keep back as many monsters as you can. Percy, if you can still use your powers when the death mist is affecting us this much, then do what you can. You said there was water under the ground. See if you can use it." Percy nodded. "Isabella, can you do anything? Like, anything ordinary people can't do?" My first instinct was to say no, shake my head hard and just get out of here, but it was like I wasn't in charge of my voice.

"I.. I can do this thing..." my eyes widened, and Annabeth must have noticed.

"Everything alright? She asked. I went to shake my head, but yet again, I didn't seem to be in control anymore.

"Yeah," I replied, "I can do this thing, like, if I concentrate. I don't know how to describe it. It's like, this huge blanket of..." I struggled to think of a good word to describe it, "this huge blanket of dark. I can make it to what I say." Annabeth's jaw dropped slightly, and I noticed Percy's had done the same.

"You don't think..." Annabeth asked him.

"No." Percy answered, quickly. "He would have told us. No one could keep this a secret." I was about to ask who _he_ was, when something spotted us. Or rather, something spotted Bob. And it made a beeline for him. Not in the same way as Koios. In a much more threatening way, with a blade drawn. And others began to follow him. Oh, this was bad. This was very bad.

"RIGHT." Annabeth yelled, "Bob, time to put the plan of attack into action." Bob nodded, and lifted his broom. Small Bob arched his back, hissing, and transformed from a little black kitten into a skeletal tiger sized cat. Percy closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. Two jets of water shot out of the ground. He formed them into spheres which hung just above the palms of his hands. I placed my feet hip width apart, took a deep breath, and felt a tug in my gut. Maybe I could do it again today. Who knew?

Annabeth wove in and out of the beasts. We must have become visible again or something, because they didn't just run at Bob, they ran at all of us. She slashed st them with the drakon bone dagger, and Bob was jabbing at the monsters with his broom. But Percy, what Percy was doing was mesmerising, and terrifying. He was surrounded by water, drowning things, suffocating them, making them feel the misery he must have felt when he fell into the river Cocytus. Monsters turned to dust at his feet. I was in awe. But I didn't really have the time to be. Things were coming at me left, right, and centre, and while I was killing some by stabbing them with my dagger, I knew it wasn't enough.

"PERCY!" I called to him, hoping desperately that he could hear me over the roar of all the other monsters. He turned to look at me, and I let out a sigh of relief. "COVER ME? I HAVE AN IDEA."

"WHAT IS IT?" Percy asked.

"JUST- PLEASE?" I begged. He nodded and began running towards me. I closed my eyes and concentrated. _Come on._ I thought to myself. _You've done this before, in life threatening situations. You can do it now. Come on. Come ON. COME ON._ Suddenly, it felt as though someone had reached into my body, grabbed my guts, and tried to yank them out. I let out a roar, of anger, of pain, of anguish at everything I'd lost since being down here. I threw my head back and opened my eyes. Shadows were pouring out of my fingertips, rising from the ground, engulfing anything that tried to attack me. I noticed that Annabeth had stopped fighting. She was just staring at me, her eyes wide. I saw something, an _empousai_ I thought, coming up behind her. I moved my hand to point at it, and it disintegrated as the shadows touched it. This seemed to bring her back to reality, and she returned to fighting. I heard a roar, a roar that sounded familiar, and saw someone on the horizon. Despite everything, a grin arrived on my face. Damasen has decided to choose his own destiny after all.

He joined me as I fought. I felt as though I was almost floating, twisting my body this way and that, finally beginning to get used to the tugging feeling in my gut. I'd never done something of this magnitude before, and it made me feel like laughing. Like saying _take that Tartarus, you stuffy old fart. I'm finally getting out of here._ Damasenseemed overwhelmed at what I was doing. He kept sneaking glances at me as we fought. As we slashed and destroyed, I realised. With Damasen, I felt like I was _home._ He was like a dad to me, and there was no one I'd rather be fighting along side. "Nice of you to show up!" I called, in a mocking tone. "But _what_ time do you call this?" He flashed me a quick grin as he stabbed a giant in the stomach.

"Sorry." He said, "But I'm here now." Our little conversation was interrupted by Annabeth yelling.

"NOW!" She shouted. "THE DOORS ARE FREE!" Only a couple of monsters seemed to have heard her and they made a beeline for them. I pointed the shadows at them, and they disintegrated. I reached forward, grabbed Percy, and we stared running.

As we ran, trying to keep the monsters off of us, Annabeth was trying to explain the plan to us. There was a look of guilt on her face. "Not all of us can go." That statement felt like a punch to the gut. What if it was me that couldn't go? I was so close to escaping. What if this was all a trick. We were getting closer and closer to the Doors. "Someone needs to hold the button to control the Doors." She explained. At that moment, Bob slowed down running. He stood straight. Percy slowed.

"Bob, what are you doing?" He asked, in a worried tone.

"I will do it." Bob said. "I will hold the button." My heart skipped a beat.

"But Bob, you'll die!" Annabeth argued.

"No, he won't." Damasen interrupted. "I'll hold them off. Give you three enough time to get a trip back upstairs." Tears sprang to my eyes.

"But... But you're supposed to come with me. I promised I'd get you out of here!" I said, the tears falling down my cheeks now. Damasen knelt down, wiped my tears away with the tip of his index finger, and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"I knew when you said it that you couldn't keep that promise. And that's ok. I'm meant to be here, Isabella. You, you're not. You have a life to live. Now go and live it." Damasen ran towards the oncoming swarm of monsters, and Bob said one thing to us before he raced off towards the button.

"Say hello to the stars for me."

"We will." Annabeth promised, firmly. She took a deep breath. Her bottom lip was quivering. I could tell she was trying not to cry. Me, on the other hand, I was an emotional wreck. Percy had grabbed both my arms to stop me from running after Damasen. He was suprisingly strong. He kept me in his arms as I screamed " _NO!"_ over and over, sobbing. Annabeth ran over and grabbed one of my arms. Percy took the other. They pulled me towards, and into the Doors. I was still screaming. Percy and Annabeth took one last look at Bob. He nodded, and they grabbed the doors, pushing them shut. I took one last look at the brave, brave _idiot_ who called himself Damasen. I hiccuped, and wiped the tears off my cheeks.

"Damasen," I called, hoping that he could hear me "Thank you. I swear that I will do my best to get you out of here." The _of here_ was cut off. Percy and Annabeth has managed to shut the Doors. I stood in the middle, pushing both of them together, trying my best to help. "Sorry. Thank you." I said, to both of them. Percy grunted.

"Let's save this for later. Right now, just focus on keeping the doors shut." I nodded, and tried to push the doors closer together as I felt us going up.

 ** _A/N~ Sup guys! Been a while. Sorry if this chapter is crappy, or disappointing, or anything. I'm right in the middle of GCSE's (these annoying tests that you have to do in England) and it's pretty stressful, but I really enjoy updating this, so I wanted to try and get a chapter up during the half term. It was a bit rushed, but I hope it was still enjoyable . I'm going borderline freestyle now, which means not going exactly by the books. I'm quite excited to have that creative freedom, and I can't wait to write some of Isabella's escapades when she gets back to earth! If you have the time, please leave a review! I find them so helpful, to improve the story, and my writing skills in general. Thanks for reading, I'll see you in the next update!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan. The only original character in this is Isabella. She's my creation, but the PJO/HOO universe belongs to good old Mr. Riordan._**


	20. I escape Tartarus and wait, what?

There was silence as we steadily rose higher and higher, punctuated only by the laboured breathing of all three of us. After he had slightly regained his breath, Percy looked at me. "How on earth did you do that?" He asked. I shrugged at him.

"I honestly haven't got a clue." I replied.

"But... the only person I can think of who could do that is..." Annabeth interjected, looking to Percy. They appeared to have a conversation that I couldn't hear.

"Yeah, I know." Percy nodded, his expression a frown of concentration, both for holding the Doors and whatever the hell he and Annabeth were talking about.

The conversation was making me feel uncomfortable. It was about me, but something that I didn't know about myself. And I hated that. I was about to put it to an end with a swift "whatever", when there was an almighty grumbling, grinding sound.

"What was that?" I asked, an edge of fear in my voice. Now that we were behind the Doors, I suddenly felt very on edge. I didn't even _know_ these people. Yes, they'd got me out, but what if they were going to kill me when we reached the top. What if they weren't even real? Like a hallucination that some monster had given me, laughing as I squirmed? My breathing sped up.

"I think," said Percy, looking around, "I think we've reached the top."

The Doors slid open. I gulped in a breath. The first breath of earth air I'd had in over 70 years. It tasted... _amazing._ For the first time since I could remember, the breath didn't burn my throat. And then everything happened at once.

I saw a face I thought I recognised. I head a girls voice yelling "Percy! Annabeth! Look out!" I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked up, my vision going hazy, then to Percy and Annabeth. Their eyes were wide. There was a cackle, and Percy went unconscious, falling like a puppet with the strings cut. Annabeth followed after him. I just had time to pull at the stick protruding out my chest before I, too, fell forward, and my brain was pulled into a dark abyss.


	21. For goodness sake, I’m not dying yet!

My dreams were filled with fevered images. A statue, like the one I'd seen in my dream before, only it had glowing green eyes. A boy, made of fire, flying up into the sky and exploding. Rows upon rows of kids, heavily armed, kitted out in helmets and armour. They looked like a Roman army.

Other kids, in orange t-shirts that said something I couldn't make out. They were messier than the armoured kids, not arranged as neatly, but they seemed to know exactly where they were going and what they needed to do.

Then, a single boy, with limp, almost greasy, hair. He was wearing a purple t-shirt that had yellow writing on, and was stabbing a teddy bear, pulling out the stuffing. A tall, also blonde boy with a deep tan, marched up to him, and they began conversing. I could only make out the words " _You anaemic loser"_ and I chuckled to myself.

Next to the tall, blonde, tanned boy was a slightly shorter, paler boy with dark hair. He looked ill. I recognised him. He looked like someone that I knew couldn't be alive.

My eyes rolled open for a split second. I saw fighting. I could see Percy and Annabeth were awake. I tried to get up, but I couldn't move my body. I felt useless. A groan fell from my lips, and a broad, Asian looking boy must have heard, as he shot me a glance, as if checking to see if I was alright.

I saw the boy again, the short, pale one that I recognised. I wanted to yell out his name, see if it was really him, but my voice had stopped working.

I also saw a man with dark hair, and a beard. He was wearing robes, and fighting with a blade that looked like it was made of darkness. He was fighting, but he kept looking at me, as did the boy with messy black hair. They looked like father and son.

The effort was too much. I could feel a sticky pool of blood around me. I closed my eyes, and willed it to stop. I could feel my consciousness slipping away, but I demanded it to stay. I was _not_ ready to die yet. Not when I'd only just got out. To my surprise, it did as I said. My consciousness travelled back into my mind. I panted with the effort it had taken, and felt my eyes roll back into my head. I slipped back into unconsciousness.


	22. A flying ship? Great to jump from

Chapter 20

I blinked a couple of times as my eyes opened. I was surrounded by wooden walls. Someone was holding my hand. _Someone was holding my hand!_ I bolted up, twisted the arm of the hand holder, and had them on the floor before they could blink. I went to draw my dagger, but it was gone. I put one foot on their chest, and held my hands out threateningly. "Where is it?" I growled.

"Issy… Issy it's me." The boy I had my foot on choked out. "It's Nico!" I narrowed my eyes.

"Don't. Lie. To me." I said, through gritted teeth.

"I'm not!" The boy managed to get out. I noticed that he wasn't trying to fight back. He was just letting me keep him on the floor. I took my foot off his chest, and stepped back.

"Who are you?" The boy went to reply, but I cut him off. "Who are you, really?" I asked.

"Nico!" He said again. "Issy, I promise you, it's really me!"

"Nico's dead." I said. My voice cracked on the last word, and I silently cursed myself. I couldn't be weak in front of this person. They would use my weaknesses against me. "And if he isn't then he's old. Old enough to be your grandfather. He certainly isn't some teenage boy."

"He is." The boy, claiming to be Nico replied.

"Forget it. Let's get two things straight. Who told you my name? And where's my dagger?"

"I know your name because I'm your brother." The boy said. I went to snap at him again, but he cut me off this time. "And Jason took your dagger. Percy and Annabeth, they…" The boy choked, and looked on the verge of tears. "They told us how long you were in Tartarus. Jason said that your weapons should be taken off you, in case you tried to hurt someone. Issy, I'm so sorry, I… I didn't know. I swear. I would have tried to get you, I would have-" I kicked him in the chest and he fell to the floor, winded. I ran to the door, pulled it open, stepped outside and shut the door behind me.

A blonde haired boy, looking tired and wearing glasses that had obviously been thrown on, as they were hanging precariously off his nose. "Wha- what's going on?" he asked in a sleepy tone, then his eyes fell on me. "What are you doing?" His voice sounded more awake now. I looked at him, then towards the empty corridor. I saw stairs going up. I took off running, away from him. "Hey, wait!" I heard his voice coming from behind me. A female voice joined his.

"Jace, what's going on?" It said.

"That girl, Isabella, she's just taken off running!"

"Why didn't Nico stop her?" Then came the boy called Nico's voice.

"She kicked me, sorry."

"Damn."

I was on the next floor by this point, and could hear the others at the foot of the stairs.

"Issy, stop!" Said the lying boy's voice. I turned and ran up the next flight of stairs. I could see sky. It was night. The stars looked so… _beautiful_. And familiar. It felt like the sky hadn't changed in 71 years. It was comforting. I used to stargaze with Bianca and Nico. The _actual_ Nico. I made it onto the deck. This was a ship. I got as far as the railings on the… what was it called…. Starboard side?, when the others made it upstairs. Three more people had joined them, two I recognized, Percy and Annabeth, and two I didn't. She was small, and had long, frizzy black hair, and he was also small, but he looked Latino and had impish features.

"Isabella, what's wrong?" Percy asked, taking a step forward. I took a step back.

"Please," I said, "Please don't come any closer." Percy stayed where he was.

"What's oing on?" He asked.

"What's going on," I began, in an angry tone, "Is that I have no idea where I am, I'm thankful for you getting me out, but I have no idea why I trusted you two, it's been 71 years since I last saw the earth, so I have no idea what to expect, and to top it all off, some random teenage boy is claiming to be my twin brother. But he can't be, because Nico has to be dead." There was a sharp intake of breath at that from the small crowd in front of me. The boy who was calling himself Nico scratched the back of his head and grinned awkwardly, a gesture that made my heart pang. _He_ used to do that, when we got caught doing something bad.

"Surprise?" He said, in an awkward voice. The small girl with the frizzy black hair looked at him.

"Nico, you have a-"

"I'll explain later." The boy interrupted. Why was everyone calling him Nico? It couldn't actually be him, could it? Maybe he was Nico's grandson or something. The thought made me shudder. I was a great-aunt at the age of fourteen. I gripped onto the bannisters, looking over the edge. I wanted to see the see again, but the sea wasn't there. We were… flying! I yelped in shock.

"How on _earth_ is your ship flying?" I asked. The Latino looking boy stepped forward.

"Complex engineering." He smiled proudly. As he stepped forward, I stepped back again, holding my hands out in a threatening gesture. Shadows were beginning to form at my fingertips, under the light of three lamps that were providing light.

" _Stay. Back."_ I said again. A look of guilt crossed the boy's face. A girl stepped forward now. The shadows began crawling along the floor, making their way to the feet of my audience.

" _Calm down."_ Her voice sounded strangely soothing, and I wanted to do as she said. " _And step away from the edge."_ It clicked then. I knew what she was doing. I'd seen it in Tartarus.

"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" I screamed, and this time, I jumped on top of the railing, arms out wide. "I'll jump." I said. "If you try that again, I'll jump." Her voice came again, more forcefully this time.

" _Get down from the edge. Talk to us._ "

"Ok. Here's something we can talk about. Goodbye." I said, and I jumped off of the edge.

I was in freefall. It was quite invigorating. I had a plan though. I was going to use the shadows. I'd done it once before, thought about being somewhere else and somehow arrived there. I closed my eyes and began to think of a place I'd want to fall. Travelling wouldn't slow the descent, so I'd want to choose somewhere soft to land. _Bed._ I thought. Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist. My eyes flew open, and turned to look. It was the blonde haired boy, Jace, I think the girl had called him. My fall began to slow.

"Calm down!" He yelled, the wind whipping his voice away as we fell. I was thrashing about in his grip.

"Let go!" I yelled. I managed to elbow him in the nose, and his arms slipped from my waist. Just long enough for me to get away. The girl who'd been messing with my head yelled something. The only words I could make out were _Sally Jackson_. I wondered who that was, but I didn't have much time to think about it. I slipped into the shadows, and was gone.

 ** _A/N~ It's done! Nico and Isabella have been reunited, although only for a short amount of time. I hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please, please review, it's always so nice to see other people's reactions to my work. See you next time! Alaya out._**


	23. Sorry, Sally, didn't mean to wake you up

Chapter 21

I landed with a _thump_ on a bed covered in soft white sheets. Unfortunately, the bed was occupied. And I landed on one of the occupants. His eyes flew open, and he let out a scream, pushing me onto the floor. The woman in the bed was also sat up at this point. She'd grabbed a can of something, I didn't know what. The label said _pepper spray_ , but I had no idea what it did. It must have been some form of self-defence though, as she aimed it at me threateningly.

"Who the hell are you?" Said the man.

"Are you one of Percy's friends?" The woman asked. I looked up at the word Percy. Had to be a coincidence.

" _Sono cosí-_ I'm so sorry!" I stumbled over my words, holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender. I went to stand, but as I did, Percy suddenly appeared in the room. But it looked like a blurry verson of him, like a moving picture.

"Mom, are you there?" He asked. The woman approached the weird Percy and nodded. "Right," Percy began, "So has she arrived yet?"

"She's one of yours?" The woman asked.

"Yeah," Percy replied, "Her name's Isabella. She jumped overboard the ship, but Piper managed to use charmspeak so that as she shadowtravelled she arrived at yours. Sorry." He grimaced.

"A little warning would have been nice." The man grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry Paul." Percy said. Then, the boy, the _liar_ who called himself Nico, came into view.

"Hey Sally," he began.

"Nico." She nodded a greeting at him. Why was everyone calling him Nico? Was he like, Nico the third or something?

"Basically, she's my sister. My twin sister." The boy stated.

"You have a twin?" the woman, I guess her name was Sally, asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, it's a long story." He did the neck scratch thing again, and my heart ached.

"Right." The guy, who I think was called Paul, said.

"Um, I know it's rude, but do you mind if I shadowtravel to your place real quick and come get her?" The boy asked.

"Sure." Sally replied, rubbing her forehead.

"Thanks." The boy said, and the image disappeared. Sally walked over and flicked a switch. The light turned on.

"So…" she began, "You're Nico's sister?" I paused for about ten seconds, looking into her eyes, searching to see if she was lying.

"He's… he's really Nico?" Sally looked taken aback.

"Of course he is!" She replied.

"But… but Nico's dead. He has to be." I cursed myself as I began to cry. Sally tutted under her breath, a motherly action that made me want my mother desperately. She went to wrap her arms around me, but I flinched away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She said in a low, comforting voice. "I promise you that I'm not going to hurt you." I looked at her through tear filled eyes.

"Nico's… dead." I said again, more firmly this time.

"No, no he isn't." Sally said, keeping her voice calm and comforting. "This is going to be a lot to get your head around but… basically, there's this hotel called the Lotus Casino-"

"That's still around?" I asked.

"You've heard about it?" Sally seemed surprised.

"It's meant to be one of the coolest places in the United States of America." I said, hiccupping as my crying slowed.

"Well, basically, it's run by these creatures- monsters, I guess you could call them. They give people Lotus Flowers to keep them there. It makes them forget what they're doing there. And while they're in there, they don't age. Nico's dad, and I guess your dad, sent him and Bianca there. They only got out a couple of years ago. I wonder why he didn't put you in there with them."

"Bianca's dead." I said. "I was keeping tabs on them… you know, checking their life forces to make sure they were still here."

"I don't know." said Sally. "That's part of what makes you so special. It's a gift. You can do it because you're the child of a god, a Greek god." I moved my head forward, in a gesture that said _what the heck are you on about?!_ "I guess your dad is Hades, the god of the underworld." My head was swirling with all this information, but somehow it felt… _right._ Like, I knew she was telling the truth.

"I felt Bianca die." I murmured, the tears coming back. "I stopped checking on Nico after that. I didn't- I couldn't feel him die, I couldn't do that." Sally tutted again, and moved in for a hug, and this time, I let her. It was the first hug I'd had in gods knows how long. I sobbed quietly into her shoulder, leaving wet patches on the sleeve of her top. Sally rocked me gently, stroking my hair, something my mother used to do. For the first time in over 71 years, I felt… _safe_.

We stayed there for a couple of minutes, Sally stroking my hair, and me sobbing gently, when I heard _thud_ of impact. I turned my head and saw… Nico. It really was Nico. I stood up and took a step forward.

"Isabella, _sono davvero io._ " A sob escaped my throat, and I threw myself at him.

"Nico, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you!" I mumbled, my face buried in his shoulder. He hugged me tightly, but I hugged him tighter. In the back of my mind, I was worried I was hurting him, but in that moment, I didn't care. I hadn't seen my brother in over seven decades, I'd be damned if I couldn't hug him as tightly as I wanted.

"I should have found you." He said. His voice sounded thick. I stepped back laughing, and wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Come on now, _non possiamo piangere entrambi!"_ (A/N~ "We can't both cry!" in Italian.) I said, taking a deep breath.

"Issy I… I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I swear. Dad, he… he told me, I don't really understand it, but he wiped you from my memory. After this… this war is over, I'll get him to explain. Words can't begin to describe how angry I am with him." Tears were falling from his eyes now. I wiped them away.

"It's okay Neeks. It's not your fault." I hugged him again, then stepped back.

"Sorry for ruining your shirt Sally." I addressed Percy's mother. She smiled. She looked like she was going to cry as well. Gods, this room was an emotional wreck. Paul looked close to tears as well.

"You didn't, sweetheart." She said. "So don't you even worry about it." I shot her a small smile.

"Issy, we need to get back to the _Argo II_." Nico said. I turned to him and nodded.

"Ok." I said. This time, Nico addressed Sally and Paul.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Blofis. For looking after her. Sorry for the disturbance."

"It isn't a problem, Nico." Paul replied.

"Good luck on the quest." Sally said. "Kick mother nature's ass." Nico smiled at that.

"Thank you. We will." he said. Then, he took my hand. "Do you know how to shadowtravel, Issy? Like, on command, without being afraid?" He asked me.

"I can try." I told him.

"Alright, picture where you woke up on the _Argo II_. That's where we're going to go." I nodded and closed my eyes. I felt the tug in my gut as I used the power. I slipped into the shadows, and was gone.

 ** _A/N~ And here's the emotional stuff lads! Phew, two chapters in one night, I'm sure feeling productive! Thanks for reading, please review if you can, and as always, all rights go to Rick Riordan, except from Isabella, she's mine. K cool, see you! Alaya out._**


	24. In which I have a panic attack

I stumbled, landing clumsily back on the deck of the _Argo II_. The short Latino boy caught me, and let out an _oof_ as I fell into him. I pushed him away quickly, feeling embarrassed. I brushed myself off and stood tall, looking at the small audience I had. My eyes darted from face to face.

"Um… hello?" was the only thing I had to offer. The black girl stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. I threw my arms up as a defence mechanism and flipped her onto the floor.

"Hazel!" the Asian looking boy called, running to her and helping her up. Nico nudged me reproachfully.

"Isabella." he said, "You can trust her. She's our half- sister." My eyes widened and I took a step back. The Latino boy was staring at me, as if trying to decide whether or not he admired me or hated me. I took another step back.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I just…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. "Sorry."

"It's alright." said the girl I'd just thrown on the floor. This time she sheepishly held her hand out and introduced herself. "I'm Hazel. I'm a daughter of Pluto. The Roman version of your dad." I shook my head, trying to wrap my head around all of this. I realized that her hand was still out, so I hastily shook it.

"Isabella." I said. The tall blonde boy I'd knocked out of the sky stepped forward. He was holding a tissue to his nose. It had specks of dried blood on it. "I'm Jason." he said.

"Sorry." I said, "For the whole…" I motioned at his nose, apologizing for elbowing him in the face earlier. The Latino boy joined him. "The name's Leo, inventor extraordinaire, possessor of good looks, and all round amazing person. " he said, grinning widely and running a hand through his hair. I stifled a laugh but gave him a smile.

The Asian boy stayed where he was, but cleared his throat and said "I'm Frank."

The other girl looked at the floor, as if she was anxious. "I'm Piper." She explained. "Sorry for scaring you." I looked at Nico. He motioned at me to step forward. "Um," I didn't know what to say. "It's ok. I'm sorry for throwing myself off of your flying boat."

That earned me a snort from Piper. Hesitantly, I joined in the laughter, and after gauging the situation the others started laughing as well. I was overwhelmed at the absurdity of the situation, and I went from laughing to crying in a very short period of time. Piper looked startled.

"Hey, it's OK. Are you alright?" She sounded worried, like she… _cared_ about me. We'd only known each other five minutes. Why would she try and take on the pain of someone she barely knew? I rubbed my eyes hard, but black spots were beginning to appear in my line of vision. There was a roaring in my ears, and I felt hot and flushed.

"Sorry. I think I need to go." My breathing quickened, and I felt lightheaded and shaky, my heart pounding. Nico grabbed my shoulders and started guiding me towards the stairs. As I took a shuddering breath, the shadows suddenly swam before me, and I found myself falling into them, losing my grip on Nico in the process.

I reappeared in what looked like a bedroom. My breathing kept speeding up, to the point that I was fully hyperventilating. My eyesight was going black at the edges and I felt dizzy. I could hear confused voices coming from above me. I must have still been on the ship. I went to grab the edge of the desk that was neatly placed in the corner of the room, knocking off several items as I did so. I reached a hand up to my face, and felt hot tears on my cheek. I didn't know what was happening to me. The voices above me stopped, and I heard footsteps running towards where I was. The door to the room flew open, and I turned to see Jason with a sword drawn. I pushed myself up against the desk, but his eyes were still narrowed, like he… like he couldn't _see_ me. The others quickly followed behind him, and I received a mixture of wide and narrowed eyes.

"What the…?" Leo breathed. The only person who reacted was Nico.

"She's having a panic attack!" he said, sounding worried. "Out the way, let me help her!" he yelled. Percy stood in front of him.

"But- but what in Hades is that?" he said, sounding awestruck. "That… that _cloud_?" Nico shrugged, and Leo began to make his way towards me, arms outstretched. I could see the darkness swirling around me now, but I didn't know how to stop it. My breathing was still coming fast as the darkness formed a tendril and struck Leo across the face, throwing him across the room and leaving a small gash on his cheek.

"So- sor- sorry." I manged to get the word out through heaving breaths. Jason and the others took a step back, but Nico stepped forward. He looked completely calm now. He began to walk towards me slowly. The darkness went to strike him, but he held up a hand and it stopped in its tracks. He raised his other hand, and began to compact the darkness into a tight cylinder around me. He got closer, and closer, until he broke through the wall. He wrapped me in a hug and started whispering comforting things in our native language into my ear. He stroked my hair, the way mum used to stroke our hair when we were little.

"Shh," he whispered, "Va bene. Sai al sicuro." _(A/N- Means "It's ok. You're safe." In Italian)_. He whispered it over and over, like a mantra, until my breathing slowed and I started sobbing quietly into his shoulder. We stayed that way for about five minutes, the others awkwardly watching, not knowing what to do. I felt embarrassed that I'd had such a huge breakdown in front of them. I gently pulled myself away from Nico, wiped the tears off my cheeks, and stood up. I'd somehow ended up on the floor in the midst of my… what had Nico called it? Panic attack? I looked around, and saw the mess I'd made. Papers were strewn all over the floor and everything had been knocked off the desk. It looked like a hurricane had ripped through the room.

"Whose room is this?" I asked.

"Er, mine." Annabeth said.

"Oh gods. Sorry." I said. She smiled at me.

"Stop apologizing. It feels like that's all you've done since you got here! It's fine, honestly." She slung an arm around my shoulder, and I _didn't_ flinch away. "See?" she said. "You're getting better already. You didn't judo flip me!" I groaned and put my head in my hands. The others laughed, and I slowly joined in. Somehow, I already felt like I belonged with these almost strangers. They felt like my people. And they didn't seem to want to kill me, which was always a plus. I finally felt, for the first time in over seventy years, that I kind of belonged somewhere.

 _A/N~ Thank you so much to a311243549 for being an amazing beta reader! I'm in my summer holidays now, so I should be updating more often, and it's so helpful to have someone who will check over and correct any mistakes I've made and offer suggestions to improve the story. Sorry for the long old wait between the last chapter and this chapter, but hey, what can you do? See you later, you wonderful people!_

 _Alaya_


	25. A chat with Leo

_**A/N- Trigger warning for mild mentions of depression and suicidal thoughts.**_

"It looks newly made." Reyna said, circling the statue. I'd met her after I met the others. She'd heard the fuss and kept out of the way. I kind of liked her more for that. It was embarrassing enough to have the others witnessing my meltdown.

"Yeah." Leo said. "We brushed off the cobwebs, used a little Windex, it wasn't hard."

"Windex?" I asked. I'd always had a natural curiosity, and the world had progressed so much. I wanted to know everything, wished I could soak in the information like a sponge. At the same time, all these new things made my head spin. There were televisions everywhere, and in colour instead of black and white. And everyone dressed differently. When I was little, men wore suits and women wore dresses and hats and gloves. Now, some women wore suits, and some men, Leo had told me they were often called drag queens, wore dresses and makeup.

"It's like this thing that you can, uh, spray onto glass and stuff, and it cleans it." Leo explained. I liked Leo. He'd been patient with me. I'd only been on the Argo II for a day, but the others didn't have time to answer questions. They were all focused on the prophecy. I'd been filled in on that too.

'Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.'

It all sounded pretty heavy to me. And it had reminded me of something. To storm or fire the world must fall. I was about to ask Leo if he could come with me quickly so we could have a chat, when Annabeth called us over.

"Hey guys! Have some food. Join us!" Reyna furrowed her brow, but then agreed. Leo started to head over, but I grabbed his arm.

"Leo, can you come with me quickly?" I asked. He looked at me with a confused expression. "Please?" I asked.

"OK." He said, sounding unsure. "We'll be over in a second guys!" He called to the others. Annabeth nodded, and I pulled Leo below deck.

"So what's up?" Leo asked.

"Um… well, er.. _oh, per l'amor de Dio_ _ **(A/N- means 'Oh, for God's sake in Italian),**_ look are you planning on doing something stupid?" Leo's eyes widened, but he quickly covered it up. Not quick enough. I knew what he said next was a lie.

"No," he replied, "Why do you ask?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Leo, I get that I'm new and everything, but please don't lie to me." I said.

"I'm not lying." He said, a little too quickly. "I'm too scared to lie to you. Have you seen what your brother can do? Sheesh, Death- I mean, your brother there scares the pee outta me!" He joked.

"Leo, I saw you."

"What?"

"I had a dream. You know? Percy says that… demigod dreams," I pulled a face as I said that. It felt wrong to call myself a demigod, "are often prophetic. And I saw you. Flying towards this huge thing. And you were on fire. And there was this huge, what do you call it, esplosione, you know?" I clicked my fingers, annoyed that I couldn't remember the word.

"Explosion?" Leo filled in. I pointed at him, indicating that he'd got the right word. "Mierda." He muttered as his hair began to smoke.

"Uh, Leo, you're on fire." I glanced at his hair, and he put his hands on his head. We stood in silence for about five seconds before Leo let out a deep breath.

"Sorry," he said, giving me an embarrassed grin, "Happens sometimes when I get anxious."

"So…?" I said, steering the conversation topic back to him becoming a huge fireball and exploding.

"Well, it still might not happen, but…" I raised an eyebrow. Leo sighed. "Basically, I've got this theory that if I supernova Gaia, I can take her down."

"Leo, that would most likely take you down with her!" I chided. Leo smiled sadly.

"I know." He said. I frowned.

"What… what do you mean?"

"What's one life compared to the whole of humanity?" Leo asked. I went to interrupt him, but he held up a hand. "Besides, I'm not that important. Percy and Jason and Hazel and Nico and you, you're children of the Big Three. Camp Half-Blood needs you. And Piper, her charmspeak made sure you didn't get lost. Annabeth's been the brains behind this whole operation, and Percy couldn't live without her. And Frank, he's got two different God's blood running through his veins. Elysium knows that must be important. Me? I'm not. Camp's got plenty of Hephaestus kids. They can live without one. And…" he choked, "I killed my mom. I deserve everything that's coming to me." Tears were in his eyes. "Besides," he muttered under his breath, "It's not like I haven't thought about it. Might as well make it mean something." I stared at him. What did one say to that? I was close to tears myself. I'd been here all of two days and Leo had never once stopped grinning and cracking jokes. I didn't even know he could feel sad. I took a deep breath.

"Leo Valdez, you are the only person on this ship who has bothered to put up with me. With all my stupid questions that I know must irritate you, but you haven't once asked me to stop. You have a kind soul. Gods, I know for a fact that you do. I can feel it. And sure, maybe you're not a child of the so-called Big Three, but so what? You can make fire with your fingertips. That's pretty freaking cool. On top of that, I also know for a fact that you didn't kill your mom. I can sense death, and you haven't caused anyone's." I felt slightly awkward doing it, I barely knew the boy, but I pulled him into a hug. He accepted it, wrapping his arms round me tight and sobbing quietly into my hair.

"I don't even know why I told you that." he said as he pulled away. "Who'd have thunk it? Leo Valdez, the great big depressed mess." he said, laughing wetly. I could see him throwing the walls back up, trying to keep composure, put the happy mask back on. I smiled gently, so he didn't feel awkward. "Please…" he began, but trailed off. He took a shaky breath, then started again. "Please don't tell anyone. I have a plan, so it's a possibility that I'll survive. I mean, the chances of me staying alive are as high as thirty percent!" He smiled, relaxing comfortably back into his joking role. I rolled my eyes at him, grinning. His guard dropped once more, just for a second. "I started this war. I should finish it." We stood there in silence for a couple of minutes, before I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.

"Right, let's go face the others." I said. Leo chuckled, and I pushed the doors open, squinting slightly in the sunlight. Nico saw us and moved his head, indicating seats for us. I plastered a smile on my face, and noticed that Leo had done the same. We made our way down to the gaggle of teenagers, who looked to be in deep discussion about something. I sat down next to Nico, and Leo plonked himself down next to me.

"So," Leo said, stabbing a chocolate covered strawberry with a screwdriver he'd pulled from his belt, "What did we miss?"


	26. Hazel takes me on a trip to the past

Chapter 24

It was decided. Reyna, Coach Hedge, Nico and I would take the Athena Parthenos back to Camp. Wherever camp was. I would help Nico with the shadow travelling (Elysium knew whether or not I could transport two extra people), and Reyna and Coach Hedge would help protect us. Apparently, shadow travelling that far was very tiring.

As Nico and Reyna were setting up the harness (to make sure we all stayed together), Hazel took me aside. "I know how it feels. To believe that all of this is fake." I avoided her gaze. "It's OK. Um, look, if you would let me, I can do this thing. I can show you my memories. I don't really get how it works, it might not work, but I figured it's worth a try because I can tell that you still-" I could see that Hazel was working herself up, so I interrupted her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can prove to you that all of this," she gestured around us, "is real. All you need to do is take my hand." I looked around, looking at everyone on deck. Hazel caught my uncomfortable look. "Let's go somewhere more private." She said. I nodded, and we went to her room. She sat on her bed, and patted next to her, indicating for me to sit down too. I took a deep breath and sat. "I promise you," said Hazel, "that you're safe. I'll be right beside you through all of this." I nodded again, staying silent. Hazel held out her hand, and I took it.

My eyes rolled back into my head, and the world seemed to spin. Anxiety rose in my chest and I squeezed eyelids shut. This was a bad idea. I went to pull my hand away when I heard a voice, Hazel's voice, say "It's okay. Look." I opened my eyes.

 _We were back at the Doors. Everyone was fighting, and it was a flurry of action. Then, the Doors opened. I saw Percy and Annabeth and myself. Percy and Annabeth looked exhausted, but I… well, I looked dead. My face was covered in dirt, and my hair was matted. My cheekbones stuck sharply through my face. I gasped. It was a shock. I'd showered since I got out, but I hadn't looked in a mirror. I guess I still looked like that now. That wasn't pleasant. Hazel squeezed my hand in a comforting manner. I heard someone yell "Percy, Annabeth, look out!" I turned to locate the voice, and watched Frank release an arrow from his bow. It pierced me in the stomach. Someone clicked their fingers, and Annabeth fell, unconscious. Three seconds later, Percy fell too. I could see myself struggling not to succumb, but I did. Nico was still fighting, but I heard him yell "Frank, che cosa hai fatto?!" (A/N- Means 'What did you do?!" in Italian.) Frank looked worried._

 _"Did I do something wrong?" He yelled as he fought. Nico grunted, concentrating hard on taking down a giant. A tall man with shoulder length black hair, and sharp facial features was fighting alongside him. Percy and Annabeth awoke and joined the battle, but I just lay there. Motionless. Useless._

 _Finally, it was done. The demigods and Gods were the only ones left standing. Nico turned to the tall man, shadows spilling from his body. I'd never seen my brother look this angry._

 _"Who is she? Why do I recognise her? I swear to the gods, if you've tampered with my mind-" he said in a low, menacing voice, but Hades cut him off._

 _"I did what I thought was necessary." The tall man replied._

 _"Who is she?" Nico emphasised each word._

 _"It was for the best." The tall man, our father Hades I guessed, replied, though he looked slightly anxious now._

 _"YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT'S FOR THE BEST, FATHER!" Nico spat. "WHO IS SHE?" The shadows were whirling around him like a hurricane now, whipping his hair about. The others, who had gathered in a small crowd far away from the scene, looked nervous._

 _"Isabella." Hades replied simply. He stepped forward and touched Nico's forehead before Nico even had time to react. He threw his head back and gasped, his eyes widening._

 _"Issy." he breathed. His head snapped forward and his eyes glinted as he stared at Hades. "What did you do to me?" For a brief second, Nico sounded… broken. But then a steely resolve came back into his voice. "Was it the Lethe? Was it Hera?" Hades nodded at the first one. "How. Dare. You. You had no right-"_

 _"I knew it would be too hard for you. That you'd try to go after her. I did not want to lose another child to Tartarus."_

 _"How long?" Nico's voice was quiet, like the calm before a storm. He was quivering with anger. Hades remained silent. One of the shadows lashed at him, and Hades let it strike his arm, leaving a small gash that welled with golden blood. "HOW LONG?" Nico yelled._

 _"Seventy-one years." Hades replied, looking almost upset. Nico let out an anguished, guttural, blood curdling roar that made me, the me that was spectating with Hazel, flinch. He fell to his knees, and the shadows started spreading, reaching whispery tendrils out to Hades. They engulfed him. Nico was still screaming, and the shadows subsided. Hades was gone, all that was left of him was a few drops of golden blood, ichor, left on the ground. Nico's head dropped to his chest, and he punched the stone floor. The ceiling rumbled, and bits of dust and small chunks of rock began to fall. Past Hazel stepped forward._

 _"Nico, this place is going to collapse. We have to go!" She touched his shoulder gently, but Nico shrugged her off. "We need to shadow travel out of here." Past Hazel explained. Nico looked at her with eyes that showed how broken and tired he was._

 _"Hazel," his voice cracked, and he had tears in his eyes. His breathing was shaky. "I can't –I can't." He looked away from her, bit his lip and held his breath. He clenched his fists and turned back to face her. "Even if I wasn't injured, I couldn't transport this many people. I can't focus my mind on one thing right now. I don't know where we'd end up. It's not safe."_

 _"I'll help." Past Hazel said firmly. Nico stood. Annabeth and Percy had already grabbed me and carried me over to the others. Frank snapped the arrow that was in my stomach, took a deep breath, and yanked it out. Blood began to pour from the wound, but it was mixed with something else. A golden line trailed in and out of the wound, pulling it shut like stitches._

 _"What?" Annabeth breathed, but before anyone could answer her, the ceiling rumbled again._

 _"We have to get out of here!" Hazel called. With my arms draped around Annabeth and Percy's shoulders, the others all joined hands. Nico nodded at Hazel, and they disappeared into the shadows._

The world spun again and I took in a heaving breath as I snapped back to reality. I jumped off the bed, feeling claustrophobic, like I was still in there. Hazel rubbed her temples.

"That- that was- that- what?" I finally managed to get out. Hazel looked up at me through her long, dark lashes.

"Nico went ballistic when he realised what had happened. Dad made him forget you. Said it would be too painful for him to remember, said he couldn't risk losing another child to Tartarus. I've never seen Nico so angry."

"I- I keep trying to convince myself that this is all real, but I'm so… I'm so scared Hazel. That I'm still in Tartarus, that something is slowly killing me while I think I've got my family back. It just seems too good to be true."

"I know." Hazel lightly touched my shoulder, as if seeking permission that it was ok to touch me. When I didn't push her off she pulled me into a hug. "Trust me, I get it. I was literally dead, I'm only here because Nico found me and took me out of the underworld with him. And I was terrified when I got here. Everything was different. Gods, I didn't know what was going on. I was sure it was all a trick. But I had people who were there for me. Who helped me adjust. I still don't understand everything, and sometimes I find myself panicking and wondering if I ever did leave the underworld. But then I go and sit with Leo, or Piper, or… Frank," she blushed and smiled as she said his name, "and I remember that I'm not alone in this. And you aren't either. I promise you this is real." I took a heaving breath as I pulled away from the hug. "I'll let you process things if you want. Come back up when you're ready." Hazel said, and she turned to leave. As her hand touched the doorknob, I called her name.

"Hazel?" I said. She turned to face me.

"Yeah?" She asked, in a gentle voice.

"Thank you." She smiled at me and left. I sat back down on her bed and put my head in my hands. This was real. This was real. This was real. This was real. I repeated that in my head over and over, like a mantra. I was safe. Nico was here, and Percy was here, and Annabeth was here. They were all real people. Nico… my brother, my twin brother was still alive by some miracle, even if… even if Bianca wasn't. And Percy and Annabeth, they helped me leave Tartarus. They wouldn't have done that if they had malicious intentions. I rubbed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the aching feeling in my chest, then stood up and went to join the others.

 _ **(A/n- Whooooo! Two chapters in two days? You'd better believe it buster! Thank you for reading this you wonderful person, I hope you enjoyed it! And in case you were wondering, I think the next chapter to be slightly less angsty, because the angst in the past two installments has almost been too much to bear!**_ _ **See you in the next update)**_

 _ **P.S-DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE REVIEWS! Reviews are the lifeblood of a writer. If you imagine fanfictions being books in a store, then reviews are the currency used to pay for them. If you read a story and do not leave a review, then that means you are SHOPLIFTING! And that's bad. Don't shoplift - leave reviews. By the way, a review does not have to be long. All writers LOVE getting nice long reviews, but it is still nice to see reviews no matter the length. So PLEASE, leave reviews.**_


	27. We don't talk about Albania

Chapter 25

The first jump was OK. After we'd said our goodbyes and strapped ourselves into the harness, Nico and I agreed to shadow travel to Albania. "Sei pronto?" (A/N- means "You ready?" in Italian.) he asked. I took a deep breath and nodded. Nico grabbed my hand. "We have to work together." He explained, turning to face me but shutting his eyes in concentration.

"Right. OK." I replied. "Let's go." I closed my eyes and pictured Albania as best I could. I'd never been there in my life before. I could feel the shadows crawling towards me, and I let them. "Take me to Albania." I commanded, hoping that the shadows would understand. With a tugging sensation in my gut, I felt the shadows embrace me, and we were gone.

The first I saw was the ground hurtling up to meet me. The first thing I smelt, was poo. "Ah, shit!" I heard Nico say as he pushed himself up. Reyna jumped to the floor, brushing it off her clothes. Coach Hedge sniffed deeply.

"Hmm," he said, "smells fresh. Healthy. Some lucky person is going to get a good crop from this." I realised what we'd done. Yes, unfortunately, Nico and I had shadow travelled us into a manure heap.

I jumped down next to Reyna, trying to wipe the poo off my face. "This is disgusting!" I exclaimed. "I am so sorry!" Looking at our surroundings, I could see we were in the middle of nowhere. I heard something in the distance. It sounded like a car. At least we were lucky enough to get here at the same time as someone else was passing through. A man in a rusty red truck noticed us as he passed by. He stopped the truck and rolled down his window.

"Je mirë?" He asked (A/N- means "you alright?" in Albanian)

"Po. Kishte pak aksidente." Nico replied (A/N- means "Yes. We just had a bit of an accident." in Albanian)

"You speak Albanian?" Coach Hedge asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Nico said. "I ended up in a lot of different countries when I was teaching myself to shadow travel."

"Cool." Reyna said, looking impressed.

"Më falne? Nëse nuk është shumë për të kërkuar, a mund të marrim një ashensor në qytetin më të afërt? Vetëm, ne nuk kemi një makinë." I inquired. (A/N- means "Excuse me? If it's not too much to ask, could we maybe get a lift to the nearest town? Only, we don't have a car." in Albanian)

"You speak it too?!" Coach Hedge sounded flabbergasted.

"Yes. I was like seven when Zeus blew up the hotel we were staying in. I think I'm about fifteen now. I travelled a lot in the time between the hotel and Tartarus, and I learnt a lot of new languages."

"English?" The man asked in a heavy accent. "You speak English?" I nodded.

"Yes," Nico interjected, "But we already have a car. Sorry for bothering you!" Reyna nodded emphatically in agreement, and Coach Hedge hummed in a way that said 'yes.'

"What? No we—"

"Yes we do, Lily." Nico interrupted again.

"Lily? Who's—"

"SO we'll see you!" Reyna said. I was thoroughly confused.

"No, no, I insist." Said the man. I began to feel uneasy, and suddenly realised that I'd put my foot in it. The others obviously didn't trust this man, and I was making it pretty clear that they were lying simply to get away from him.

"Oh yeah, the car. My bad, sorry!" I said, trying to cover up my mistake.

"Yeah, so we should be going." Nico explained.

"No, no, come on." The man began to open his door, but Nico kicked it shut again, trapping the man's foot in the frame. At the same time, Reyna drew her sword and Coach Hedge readied himself to play a tune on his reed pipes. The man howled in pain, and two voices from the back yelled

"Babë!"

"Oh my gods!" Reyna said, blushing deeply.

"Crap!" Nico exclaimed.

"Are those… children?" Coach Hedge asked. A young girl, no older than eight, pushed her head through the gap between the two front seats. And then she screamed. I'd heard that some mortals could see through the mist, and she obviously could, because she pointed at Reyna and started yelling

"Shpatë!" (A/N- "Sword!" in Albanian) Reyna, in a panic and not wanting to scare the girl any further, threw the sword behind her. It landed directly in the manure heap.

"Oh, for gods sake!" Reyna yelled, realizing what she'd done. The poor little girl's dad obviously couldn't see through the mist, as he kept telling her

"Jo dashur, është vetëm një shkop. Është vetëm një shkop." (A/N- means "No darling, it's just a stick. It's just a stick." in Albanian) He turned to us, his two daughters till screaming in the back seats, and said "Look, I can't help you. Goodbye." Then, he drove off.

"Oh. My. Gods." Reyna said again.

"Well that was embarrassing." Nico said in agreement.

"Let's just never speak of this again." Coach Hedge suggested, and we all hummed in agreement.

"Let's go see if we can find anywhere to get cleaned up." I said, gesturing to our poo covered clothes and faces.

"Yeah." Nico nodded. We all started walking when I stopped.

"Um, Reyna?" I called, remembering what she'd done earlier.

"Yeah?" she turned to face me, but carried on walking backwards.

"I think you forgot your sword." I looked towards the manure pile. Reyna growled in frustration and stalked off to retrieve her weapon.

 ** _A/N- Another chapter! And the next one's already written, I just want to have material to post in a few days time lmao. For some reason when I uploaded the document, it refused to acknowledge that my authors notes were in bold and anything that isn't English was written in italics. I'm so sorry if that annoyed any of you._**

 ** _As always, REVIEW! It makes me so happyyyyy, and constructive criticism is also appreaciated! (CONSTRUCTIVE, please don't just be downright rude). Thanks for reading!_**

 ** _Alaya_**


	28. Reyna can do some really awesome stuff

Chapter 26

It was a long trek, but we finally managed to find a small village. It took us another long while, but we _finally_ managed to find someone willing to let us use their shower. They even washed our clothes, which was kind of them. Once we were all nice and clean, Nico suggested getting on with the next round of shadow travel. The kind old married couple who'd let us clean up said goodbye, and we thanked them. Coach Hedge placed a few gold _drachmas_ in the man's hand. The man rolled them over. " _Drachmas?"_ He asked.

" _Po."_ Nico said. **_(A/N- means "Yes." in Albanian)_**

" _Demi-per_ _ëndi_?" The man asked. **_(A/N- means "Demi-gods?)_**

" _Po. A jeni?"_ I was surprised that we'd come across another demigod. **_(A/N- means "Yes. Are you?")_**

" _Po. Biri i Demeter."_ He replied. **_(A/N- means "Yes. Son of Demeter.")_** _"Ju duhet t_ _ë jeni n_ _ë k_ _ërkim. Pa_ _ḉ fat!" **(A/N- means "You must be on a quest. Good luck!")**_ We said our thanks, and went to leave. Luckily we didn't have to travel with a poo covered statue. The couple had lent us cleaning supplies to make sure it was in good condition. We clipped ourselves back into the harness.

"Where to?" Reyna asked.

"Italy?" Nico suggested. I grinned like a maniac.

"YES!" I said, a little too quickly.

"OK. Off we go then."

Suddenly, we were falling. I looked down to see a crater. "GUYS!" Reyna yelled, the wind whipping her voice away.

"Pan's pipes!" Coach Hedge cursed.

"Whaaaaa!" Nico flailed. I saw him almost slip out of Reyna's grip, but she managed to grab him. I wrapped a hand around her wrist and managed to grip the back of Coach Hedge's shirt collar.

"That's Vesuvius below us!" Reyna exclaimed. "Teleport us out of here!" Nico looked around, his eyes completely unfocused, and I realized with dread that he would be no use for now.

"I- I can't! No strength!" Nico yelled, eyes wide and terrified. Coach Hedge bleated in alarm.

"News flash guys! Goats can't fly! Zap us out of here of we're gonna get flattened into an Athena Parthenos omelette!" I shut my eyes and tried hard to shadow travel us somewhere else, anywhere else, but I couldn't. I was still new with shadow travelling, and I didn't know how to transport this many people on my own. I heard Reyna murmur something, and she must've come to a conclusion.

"Guys, shadow-travel," she ordered, "I'll lend you my strength." Nico looked at her blankly.

"How-"

" _Do it!"_ Reyna yelled. She grabbed our hands and I noticed the tattoo on her arm, the torch and sword symbol of Bellona, begin to glow. Suddenly, it felt like my entire body was running with electricity. I straightened, not deliberately but because of the sudden flow of energy, and just before we fell into the volcano, we slipped into the shadows.

"Oh my fucking gods!" Reyna exclaimed as we arrived. I bent my knees on impact, but fell to the ground. Reyna and Coach Hedge looked around, trying to see where we were. I felt sick. Nico had _not_ been exaggerating when he described how exhausting shadow travelling could be. I was out of breath, it felt like I'd run a hundred miles, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Unfortunately, Nico did. He fell to the floor, hard, and just lay there.

"I guess we're stopping here for a bit." I said to Reyna and Coach Hedge. They nodded and began to untangle themselves from the harness.

"You guys get some rest." Reyna said. "I'll take first watch." Coach Hedge put his back up against the Athena Parthenos and shut his eyes. I shuffled over to sit with Reyna. We sat there in comfortable silence for about half an hour. I loved the way the sun felt on my skin, the feel of the breeze. It made me feel like I was home again, in my own time. "So where are we?" Reyna asked. I took a deep breath in.

"Home." I explained. "Italy." I pointed to the horizon. "We lived in Venice. I shared a bedroom with Bianca. I remember I was _so_ _jealous_ that Nico got his own bedroom, but he was the only boy, so…" I shrugged.

"What happened to it?" Reyna asked. "The house?"

"I don't know." I sniffed. "Maybe bombs, maybe Zeus."

"I can't wrap my head around the fact that you lived through World War Two."

"Yeah." I agreed. We fell back into silence, both lost in our own thoughts.

"What did Zeus do?" Reyna asked. "Why would he have destroyed your house?"

"The god of the underworld was hiding three children. Zeus didn't like the idea that he could possibly be overpowered by three _bambini_. Mama made us move about and we ended up in the United States. In this hotel in Washington. One night, our father ran in, told mama we had to go. She wouldn't let him take us, said we were staying here. He shadow travelled us out of there, and turned back to go and get mama when…"

"It's ok." Reyna said, realizing I was getting upset. "You don't have to talk about it."

"No, I… I want to. He turned to get mama when the hotel was hit by lightning. Turned out, Zeus had been trying to kill us. But he didn't succeed. He only managed to kill—" I choked, but continued, "He only managed to kill mama." I felt hot tears on my cheeks and I brushed them away. Reyna stayed silent, but she nodded, turning to face forward and rubbing her arms.

"Were you alright earlier?" I asked Reyna.

"Sure, why?" She seem confused.

"Well, it's just that when we landed you said 'Oh my fucking gods', and I don't think people normally say that if they're alright." Reyna gave me an embarrassed smile.

"When I lend someone my strength, I feel a sort of echo of their emotions. When I lent it to Nico, I felt so much anguish that I was almost overwhelmed, and that's just an _echo_ of what he's feeling. But when I lent it to you, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I don't know what I was expecting, I mean, you spent seven decades in Tartarus for Elysium's sake. I just… it was almost impossible for me to lend you my strength, and that isn't even half of what you're feeling. I don't like people I like feeling bad." She explained.

"Oh." Was all I had to say in reply. I wasn't sure I liked the idea of someone feeling my emotions, even if it was just an echo.

The quiet was only interrupted by the snores from Coach Hedge. Occasionally, Nico whimpered in his sleep. It made me panic each time, thinking that someone was hurting him. That's one of the things I'd seen in Tartarus. I'd come across something that could manipulate the mist (mist was a crazy concept to me, but it made sense), and they made me see Nico and Bianca and mama being killed in a thousand ways. There was nothing I could do to stop it, no matter how hard I tried. I could see the monster laughing in the corner of my eye, enjoying my torment, but my brain kept telling me that this was real and it was _my_ fault and I had to save them. I'd almost been glad to kill that monster. "You should sleep." Reyna said in the end. I didn't bother arguing with her, I simply curled up on the floor and shut my eyes. I was asleep in seconds.


	29. I'm Isabella (ft Leo and Calypso)

Chapter 27

I'm sure Nico, Reyna and Coach Hedge have told you all about the ensuing adventures as we shadow travelled. I don't remember much, I spent most of it completely exhausted, and apparently, at one point, a shadow myself. That had spooked me, when Reyna told us that she'd tried to place a pillow under Nico's head and her hand had passed straight through him. I'd only just found my idiot twin brother, and by some miracle he was still alive and my age. If he got himself killed, I would be so annoyed with him. Mind you, I couldn't talk. Apparently I'd missed an entire adventure with this group of girls who called themselves the Amazon's, and the hunters of Artemis. Reyna told me it was because I severely malnourished, and had even less energy than Nico. I'd managed to help in the fight with Orion that followed their meeting, but I did hardly anything. Everything's a bit jumbled after that. I think my mind sort of opted out of the situation. I've been told now that it was because of the stress on my mind and my body.

The next thing I remember was arriving at Camp Half-Blood. It was a warzone. People in orange t-shirts fighting people in purple togas and armour. I pulled out my dagger and tried to defend myself. I scanned the sea of fighters, desperately searching for Nico or Reyna or Percy or Annabeth or Leo or Hazel, or just _any_ face that I recognized _._ I spotted Nico running with a tall blonde guy, and two slightly smaller people, one a girl and one a boy. I also spotted the soldiers in purple who were sneaking up behind them, brandishing swords. I ran over and stood between them and my brother. I sliced with my dagger, trying not to kill anyone because I was pretty sure they were human and they wouldn't just regenerate. I had three on the floor unconscious, when I heard Nico yell "Issy, duck!" I did as he said, and flinched as a throwing knife whistled passed me, inches from my face.

"That was rude." I said plainly, then took a deep breath and slammed my fist into the ground. Four skeletons emerged from the spot I'd punched and began advancing on the remaining warriors. I heard a surprised grunt from behind me.

"Nico, is she-" the voice let loose a guttural yell, and then there was a thud. "I'm good." The voice said. The skeletons had done their job, and in front of me lay seven unconscious soldiers. I turned to look at Nico, panting hard. My vision went swimmy. _Come_ _on_! I thought to myself. _Why do I keep fainting at everything?_ _I didn't survive 71 years in Tartarus to pass out every five minutes back on Earth._ I heard a sharp intake of breath, and realised it came from the tall blonde boy. "Oh my _gods_ , she is not well." I grunted in agreement, and felt my legs give way. I noticed the unconscious body of a Roman soldier behind the group of people as I fell. The blonde one caught me, and I faded into darkness.

There are some blurry things. A liquid being poured down my throat that tasted like my mama's cooking. Nico sitting next to me, holding my hand, whispering words that I couldn't quite make out. The blonde boy and some other people leaning over me with worried looks on their faces. For the first time ever, as I slept I had no nightmares. Instead I dreamed of a beach of white sand. A girl was there. She had caramel coloured hair. Running towards her came a small, impish looking boy. As he got closer, I realised it was Leo. He ran to her and wrapped her in a hug.

"Calypso." He breathed into her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"You came back. You _actually_ came back." She cried.

"Of course I did. I'm a man of my word, I wouldn't just _leave_ you here!" He exclaimed. The girl, Calypso, gave Leo a final squeeze as she pulled away from the hug.

"How are we going to get out of here?" She asked. Leo grinned his cheeky smile and grabbed her hand.

"Follow me." He said, and led her down the sand. His dragon, Festus, came into view. Calypso let out a breathy laugh.

"Leo." She murmured under her breath. She turned suddenly and went to kiss him, but Leo turned his face away. Calypso blushed deeply. "I am sorry. I didn't-"

"No, don't, it's… it's OK." He pushed his hair out of his face and gave Calypso a jokey smouldering look. "I'd want to kiss me too." Calypso laughed again, a sweet sound. She pushed him on the chest playfully.

"Come on then." She gestured to Festus. "Help me up."

The next thing I remember was blinking awake. "Issy?" Nico's face appeared in my vision.

" _Hmm_ … yeah?" I asked, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.

"You're awake! Will, she's awake!" He called to a person behind him. The tall blonde guy I recognised from the battle came running over.

"Hey," he grinned, "She's looking much better! And her energy levels are closer to normal." I blinked hard and shook my head.

"What's going on?" I sat up and looked around. I was lying in a bed in a room filled with more beds. " _Fratello_ , where am I?" ( ** _A/N- 'Fratello' means brother in Italian.)_**

"This is the hospital ward Issy." He explained, then hastily added "But don't worry, everything's alright."

" _Fratello_?" Will asked, his brow furrowed. "Nico, she's your _sister_?"

"Uh-huh." Nico grunted in response.

"Is she like Hazel? Did you-"

"No." Nico said bluntly. "It's a long story." He turned to me. "You can finally introduce yourself." He told me.

"Um, okay. Hi. My name's Isabella." I told Will.

"Will." he replied, giving me a smile. "So how are you related?" He asked.

"Nico's my brother." I explained. Will rolled his eyes in an ' _I guessed that'_ way.

"Yeah, but I'm guessing you're not from the same time period." He said.

"Oh, no, we are." I said.

"Issy's my twin sister." Nico said. Will's eyebrows shot up.

"No way!" He exclaimed. "Wait, but how come you didn't come with Nico and Bianca?" He asked, lowering his voice slightly as he said Bianca's name. I winced at hearing it, her death still too painful for me to think about properly.

"I wasn't sent to the Lotus Casino. Hades sent me on errands for him instead. He said that some prophecy said… uh… ' _a double-blooded daughter of the underworld, will save all existence and peace will unfurl.'_ He said he couldn't let me out of his sight, that I was too important. I guess he thought I was the child of the prophecy. But I fell into Tartarus. That's where I've been. I only got out when Percy and Annabeth found me." As I mentioned Percy's name, he came running in, Annabeth close behind me.

"I heard Isabella was awake." He called, and his eyes fell on me. "Isabella!" He ran over. "How you feeling?"

"Percy, you _can_ call me Issy. Isabella's a mouth full."

"Thank the gods. I was wondering that." He laughed.

"I'm OK. I've been better, but what can you do?" I shrugged, and Percy smiled. "How long have I been here? How many days have I missed?" I asked.

"Three weeks." Annabeth grimaced.

"Three _weeks_?" I repeated incredulously. "What? How? I wasn't that ill!"

"Issy, you were in _Tartarus_ for seventy years. You were ill." Nico said. I felt my shoulders slump. "So what happened? What about Gaia?" I inquired.

"We managed to defeat her." Percy said proudly. "But, um, well… Leo didn't make it." My eyes widened.

"What? Oh no, he actually did the fireball thing?"

"You _knew_?" Annabeth almost yelled, and I flinched. Whoops.

"Yeah. Yeah, I knew. I saw it in a dream. But he asked me not to tell anyone, said he had a plan, that he would survive, and I… well, I believed him." Nico put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. You weren't the only one that knew." He comforted me.

"That's true." Percy quietly agreed. I shut my eyes, looking for a way to access the power. I could do this. Will must have noticed me close my eyes, because he cleared his throat.

"Alright, this is all well and good," he said, "But my patient needs to rest, so you guys can clear off now." They did as they were told, and I heard them all leave one by one. Nico stayed sat by my bed side. I moved my eyes beneath my eyelids, searching, looking for Leo's life force. I didn't know how I could do that, I guess it was being a daughter of Hades. I could feel the tug in my gut as I extended the power, widening the radius of my search. It was sort of like a radar, scanning for Leo. I focused on my breathing, slowing it down, concentrating. I widened the radius again, and put a hand to my temple. I was getting a splitting headache. I widened the radius again, no luck. I was about to give up when a small blip appeared on my radar. I focused in on it, making sure it was real. It was. I felt a grin forming on my face.

"Issy, what is it?" Nico asked, curious.

"Leo's not dead." I said, opening my eyes. Nico frowned at me.

"Issy, he is. I checked, I couldn't see his life force."

"You didn't look hard enough. He's in some place called, um, _Ogygia_." I saw Nico's eyebrows raise in an expression of surprise.

" _Ogygia_?" Nico's mouth fell open. "You managed to see _Ogygia_? That place is kept hidden by the Gods. No one who isn't immortal can see it."

"I could." I said, feeling a bit weirded out. Couldn't Nico do that too?

"We have to tell Chiron. And Piper and Jason. They're losing their minds with worry."

"Who's Chiron?" I asked.

"I'll take you to meet him. Will?" Nico called. Will held up a hand, it looked like he was busy disinfecting medical gear. Once he was done, he came over.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Can Issy leave? I was going to take her to meet Chiron."

"That can wait." Will said bluntly. "She's still really weak, Neeks." He turned to me. "You need rest. Your body needs to adjust to being up here. Gods, I can't believe you were in _Tartarus._ Let alone being down there for seventy years."

"We need to talk to him." Nico interrupted. "She thinks Leo's still alive." Will looked shocked.

"OK. You can go. But drink this first." He handed me a cup filled with a strange looking liquid. "It's nectar." He explained. "Mortals can't drink it, but you're a demigod, so it'll help heal you." I looked at Nico, and he nodded. Will must have caught the glance. "It's safe to drink, I promise. I swear on the River Styx that it won't hurt you." Something in my brain clicked. A memory. _'A promise on the River Styx is a promise that can't be broken.'_ I couldn't remember who told me that, but I knew to trust Will. I took the cup and took a sip. It tasted like the things my mama used to cook for us before… before everything happened. I gulped down the rest greedily.

"What did it taste like?" Nico asked me.

"Mama's cooking." I replied. Nico laughed slightly.

"It used to taste like that for me, too. Until I discovered McDonalds." Will rolled his eyes.

"You know that stuff's really bad for you." He chastised.

"I am the Ghost King. _I_ am bad for _it_." Will elbowed Nico in the ribs playfully. I watched the scene play out with a confused look on my face.

"What's a McDonald?" I asked. Nico pulled a mock horrified face, then laughed, properly this time. Will look stunned.

"What?" Nico said, suddenly sounding gruff and closed off again.

"Nothing." Will said. "I've just never really seen you laugh properly."

"And it won't happen again." Nico said, though a smile played on his lips. I climbed out of bed and he grabbed my hand. "Come on _sorellina_. I've got a lot to show you." **_(A/N- 'Sorellina' = little sister in Italian.)_**

 ** _A/N- Hi guys! Don't forget to review! Thanks to and Waterfirewitch for the recent reviews! In answer to your question waterfirewitch, my friends think I'm either a child of Hades or Apollo (I know, two very different gods but hey), but the Rick Riordan quiz says Apollo is my godly parent. Buzzfeed thinks it's Poseidon though. I can't decide! They'd all be cool to have as parents_**


	30. How the heck do showers work?

Chapter 28

Nico took me on a detour, quickly showing me the grounds like I'd requested. I looked around as we walked, trying to drink in as much as I could. People were sword fighting, others were practicing archery. Some people were above us, doing an action course up in the trees.

"Do I get to do that?" I asked Nico, getting distracted and walking off towards the archery course. Nico grabbed my hand and gently pulled me away, guiding me back to the path we were meant to be taking.

"Not yet, Miss. _Distratto._ " He chuckled. **_(A/N- 'Distratto' means distracted in Italian)_** "We need to see Chiron first."

"Who _is_ Chiron?" I asked, slightly frustrated that I couldn't go and join in with the cool stuff the other kids were doing.

"He's the activities director at Camp. He's basically the guy in charge." Nico explained. I nodded. I'd started to realize that people were staring at us. At me. I looked down, letting my matted hair fall in front of my face. I _really_ needed a haircut. And a bath. I stopped walking. It had been a while since I was among other people, other humans, and it had just occurred to me that I was _not_ in an acceptable state to be out in public.

"Um, Nico?" I called to him, blushing deeply.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, his voice laced with concern.

"Nothing, it's just… are there any baths here? I look a mess." I said under my breath, feeling really embarrassed.

"Oh my gods, sorry! I completely didn't think. Yeah, come on, I'll take you to the Hades cabin."

I followed Nico past several of these 'cabins' until we finally got to ours. Number 13. He opened the door. "Uh, I've never used it so I don't know what the facilities will be like, but the girl's dorms and bathrooms are through there."

"OK. See you later." I stepped through the door separating the girls and boys dorms and was overcome by how luxurious it looked. There were beds, actual _beds_. Better than that, they were double beds. The sheets were plain white with black quilts over the top. The headboards were carved with intricate skull designs. Yes, I would probably redecorate that, it felt a bit too gothic. I saw a door with a picture of a lady on it, figured it was the bathroom, and stepped. It was wide and spacious, with several showers and toilets. I checked, and there was already shampoo and conditioner in there, along with shower gel. There were also cloths and towels. I picked up a cloth, and stripped of my clothes.

As I turned the handle on the shower, water shot out and I stepped back. In my experience, it took a little longer than that to get going. I placed my hand under the stream, testing the temperature, but yanked my hand away. _Gods_ it was hot. I fiddled with another handle a couple of times, trying to cool it down, but I couldn't figure out how. Eventually I gave up and put my clothes back on. Knocking on the door that separated our dorms, I sheepishly stepped in. Nico was lying in bed, fiddling with the skull ring on his finger, staring into space. " _You alright_?" He asked, lapsing into our native Italian as he noticed me stood there.

" _I can't figure out how to get the shower to work_." I admitted, also lapsing into Italian and sighing a little. Nico grinned at me, with the smug look of an older sibling that knew something the younger one didn't.

"I'll show you." I took him through to the girl's bathroom. "OK, so you just gotta turn this to start the water." He explained.

"Yes, I know that!" I snapped at him, irritated that he was repeating what I already knew. "How do I change the temperature?" Nico pushed the temperature handle to the right slightly.

"There. Is that cool enough?" He asked me. I stuck my hand under the flow of water and nodded.

"Thanks." I called after him as Nico left. I stripped of my clothes again and stepped into the shower.

I tried to work a comb through my hair as I stood there, but it was useless. The teeth all broke because my hair was too matted. Sighing in defeat, I massaged some shampoo into my scalp and washed it out. Next came the difficult part. My skin was filthy, and I was going to have to scrub myself raw if I wanted to get it clean. I poured shower gel onto the flannel and got started.

I emerged from the shower 40 minutes later. I wasn't spotless but it was a bit difficult to wash away 70 years of grime in 40 minutes. The mirrors were covered in condensation. I rubbed part of a mirror and saw my face for the first time in seven decades. I was shocked. My cheekbones stuck dangerously through the skin. My eyes were sunken. I somehow still had all my teeth, thanks to the river Phlegethon I guessed. I dried myself off and found a stick of deodorant. I hastily applied some and stepped into my room. On one of the beds was a neatly folded pair of jeans, a pair of underwear, a bra and a bright orange t-shirt that said 'Camp Half-Blood' in bold letters. They were in my size, so I put them on and went back through to Nico.

"Ah!" Nico said as he saw me. "Now you look half presentable, _mostro_." He teased. **_(A/N- 'Mostro' means monster in Italian)_**

"Shh." I said as I playfully punched him in the arm. "Come on then. Take me to meet Chiron."

I thought it was because of how dirty I was that the other campers had been staring, but they still stared at me as I walked by. Finally, I cracked.

"What?!" I snapped at someone who was staring. They turned away with a quiet 'nothing'. I looked at Nico. "Why is everyone staring?" I asked him.

"You get used to it. We're children of one of the big three. They're scared. And they're especially scared because we're children of Hades. Our dad has a bad rep because of his job. We can do some messed up stuff Issy. Like how you summoned those skeletons? It makes people uncomfortable." I nodded, but felt a frown form on my face.

"That's not fair! It's not our fault!"

"I know." Nico agreed, "But all we can do is just ignore them." I scowled.

"Fine." I growled.

We reached the Big House and Nico led me up the stairs. A guy with horse legs, a centaur, stood at the door. "Nico, Isabella, can I help you?" He asked.

"Issy, this is Chiron." Nico introduced us. "And yeah Chiron. Issy thinks that Leo's still alive." I saw shock register on Chiron's face, but he quickly masked it.

"Right." Chiron cleared his throat. "Well, come inside then."

 ** _A/N- Hey guys! It's been a while. Gaaahh, sorry about that. I haven't been very inspired, and I've also just started college. (I'm British, so college here is the equivalent of American Grade 11). Hopefully I'll be updating more now though! Don't forget to REVIEW! xx_**


	31. Claimed

**_A/N- Hello! Please review! I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, I have a fanfiction account on Instagram now, it's marauders._.fanfic. I'll probably be posting little oneshots on their, so follow if you want to read them! Also, I've published two new stories on my fanfiction account, go check them out! As always, thanks to my amazing beta reader a311243549! You guys are awesome! xx_**

Chapter 29

Chiron motioned for me to take a seat as he trotted behind a desk. "So, what exactly did you see?" He asked me.

"Er, well…" I trailed off, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking to this figure of authority that I hardly knew. It felt like I was snitching on someone, despite the fact that I knew I wasn't. I glanced at Nico for approval, and he nodded encouragingly at me. I ran my hands over my thighs, took a deep breath, and began explaining. "I can do this thing. It's sort of like… like… sonar. Basically, I just searched for Leo's life force. And I found it. Like a blip on the radar. He was in some place called Ogygia." I heard the breath hitch in Chiron's throat.

"You saw Ogygia?" Chiron asked, awe-struck. I nodded frowning a little.

"Yes. Why is that a surprise? I don't understand why I shouldn't be able to." Chiron looked at me, studying me with a serious look on his face.

"My dear, Ogygia cannot be seen by mortals or half-bloods. Unless the gods send you there to meet Calypso." I snapped my fingers and pointed at Chiron.

"That's the name of the girl Leo was with!" I exclaimed. Chiron's brow furrowed.

"Nico, may I speak with your sister alone for a minute?" Nico looked nervous. I figured he didn't want to leave me. He'd always been overprotective of the people he loved. Finally, Nico nodded and left the room. I started bouncing my leg subconsciously, unable to sit still. Chiron came to stand directly in front of me. He smiled gently at me, as if to calm me down, and proceeded to say a line of prophecy I thought no-one but the gods knew.

" _A double-blooded daughter of the underworld_

 _Will save two existences and peace will unfurl."_ My leg stopped bouncing. I instantly felt anxious, and slightly shocked that Chiron knew the prophecy. "You think it's about you, don't you?"

"No." I said, then corrected myself. "I don't know. When I was working for Hades… for dad, he kept muttering that prophecy. He literally told me he had to keep me safe. That I was important. That the fate of existence rested on my shoulders. I thought he was crazy. I still do. But I have this little voice in the back of my head that keeps saying maybe he's telling the truth. Maybe everyone's in danger and only I can stop it." I explained, without taking a breath. I suddenly realised I felt close to tears. I blinked furiously to make sure I didn't. Chiron nodded slowly.

"What do you think double-blooded means?" He asked me, but in a tone that suggested he knew the answer.

"Well, I don't really know. I guess maybe because I'm a, oh, what do you call it?"

"Demigod." Chiron filled in.

"Yeah, I guess it means that I'm a demigod. Or that I'm a twin. I don't know."

"Hmm." Was all Chiron said in reply. After a while sat in silence, Chiron took a deep breath in. He smiled at me brightly. "You may go." He informed me. I stood and turned to leave when Chiron called my name. "Isabella?" I turned to face him. "Don't tell anyone about the prophecy, will you?" I felt my gut clench in panic. I'd already told Will and Nico, but surely that was fine? I simply nodded and left.

Nico was waiting for me outside. "You alright?" He asked me.

"Yeah, of course!" I grinned at him, trying to act like nothing was wrong. My meeting with Chiron had left me deeply unsettled. Why did I need to keep the prophecy a secret? Was it actually about me? I was cut off from my line of thought when Annabeth ran up to me.

"Issy! Has Nico shown you around yet?" She asked.

"A little." I told her. "But I wanted to have a proper look at the training grounds."

"Is, I really don't think that's a good idea. You should sleep, and I promised Will I'd bring you straight back to the hospital wing."

"I'll go to the hospital wing." Nico raised his eyebrows questioningly. "I promise! Just let me check out the training grounds first." After a pause for consideration, Nico nodded.

"I'll tell Will that you and Annabeth overpowered me. It isn't unrealistic." Annabeth laughed and grabbed my hand. I pulled away and flinched, and Annabeth winced guiltily.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's ok. Would you show me around then?" I asked.

"Sure!" Annabeth replied. I took her hand again, and Annabeth looked startled, but then smiled. She gave my hand a comforting squeeze. "Come on." She said, pulling me to the direction of the overhead assault course. I stole one last glance at Nico. He was grinning happily, and I returned the smile.

"What do you want to try first?" Annabeth asked me. Something in me was screaming to get to the bow and arrows.

"Archery." I said, without even hesitating.

Annabeth laughed at my quick deciding. "Alright. Follow me." Annabeth led me over to the archery targets, and I saw a boy with dark hair in corn rows firing at them. He hit bullseye on every single one, and wore an intense look of concentration.

"Hey, Austin." Annabeth called to him. He held up a hand, knocked an arrow, pulled back his bow, and let the arrow fly. It hit the bullseye again. Once he'd done this, he jogged over with a huge grin on his face.

"Yo, Annabeth. What's up?" He asked.

"This is Isabella."

"No way! Nico's sister?" I nodded shyly. He already knew me?

"I'm Austin Lake, son of Apollo. Technically, we're like second cousins or something. Good to meet you!" He held out a hand and I shook it tentatively. "So what can I do for you?"

"I'd love to learn how to do that." I said, referring to his earlier display.

"Cool, yeah, sure. You wanna start now?"

"If it's alright." I replied, feeling a bit like a burden. I was used to having to do things for myself, and it was slightly unsettling that people were openly offering to help. And it made me feel bad, because everyone who offered me help seemed to have good intentions, but I was so used to fighting that I didn't trust them. I hadn't properly trusted anyone in a while, not even Damasen.

Austin disappeared into what Annabeth informed me was called the weapons shed, and emerged with a worn looking bow. He had a quiver of arrows in his other hand. Annabeth noticed someone she obviously knew walking past, and after quickly asking me if I was all god, she ran off to talk to them. I was left on my own with Austin. "Ok," Austin began, handing the bow to me, "First, you have get yourself in the right stance. What beginners normally stand in is called a square stance. If you just move your feet a bit," I moved them, "Yeah, so they're shoulder width apart, good going." Austin praised. I felt a smile pull at my lips. "Now, make sure your shoulders are perpendicular to the target." Austin placed his hands on my shoulders and I seized up. I breathed heavily. Austin removed his hands from my shoulders and stood in front of me. "Hey." He said, in a gentle tone. "I swear on the River Styx that I won't hurt you while we're doing this. You have to trust me. Is that ok?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax myself. I felt my shoulders relax and I nodded.

"Sorry." I said. "Yeah. It's ok."

"No need to be sorry." Austin told me, then put his arms back on my shoulders and moved me to the correct stance. I didn't like being touched, but I knew that I had to let him help me. I had to learn how to trust people again. "Now you want to nock an arrow. See this?" He pointed to a little crimp on the bowstring, carrying on as if nothing had happened. I nodded. "What you want to do, is you want to position the arrow on that." I did as he said. "Now bring the bow right up. Ok, grip the string with three fingers, your index, middle and ring fingers. It's called the Mediterranean method. It's easiest for when you're just starting out. That's it! Now just pull the string back, keeping your right arm straight. Try and pull the string back to your nose." I complied with his instructions and pulled the string back. "Now, find your target. Try not to think too hard, just let the arrow fly when you're ready." I took a deep breath, and let go of the string. The arrow landed in the blue zone and Austin whistled, impressed. "Damn, you're a natural. You want to carry on?"

"Yeah." I said, feeling a small grin on my face. "If that's alright?"

"Sure!" Austin grinned back at me. "No problem!"

My archery session was abruptly brought to an end by Will jogging over. "Isabella, you're meant to be resting." He told me sternly.

"You were?" Austin asked me, then turned to will. "Sorry bro, I would've sent her back to the infirmary if I knew."

"It's all good Austin. But Issy, you need to rest. I can see that your energy levels are really low."

"I'm still jealous that you can do that. I wish I could read people's energy levels." Austin said. Will exhaled through his noise, a little laugh.

"You'll learn, Aus. Now come on Isabella. You need sleep."

"You do know I survived decades in Tartarus, right? I've been sleep deprived for as long as I can remember, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Besides, I want to do things. Sleeping's boring."

"I am aware of that fact, yes. But as your doctor, I'm telling you, you need to sleep." Will told me. I glared at him, but stalked back towards the infirmary.

Will trailed after me as I walked. As we got closer to the infirmary, he grabbed my arm. I spun around and delivered a swift backhand slap. My eyes widened. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I'm so sorry, oh gods I-" my hands had worked their way up to my hair, and I was tugging at it. Will could see that I was distressed, and he gently placed his hands over mine, pulling them away from my head.

"It's ok. I get it. You've got PTSD, most of us do. Don't worry about it." He gave me a genuine smile, and my heart clenched with guilt.

"Sorry." I said, lamely.

"Seriously, it's all good. But Issy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why are you so against resting? It's important, your body heals while you're asleep. I know it's difficult, but-"

"You don't know anything!" I snapped. I was shocked at myself. Emotion made you vulnerable, and you couldn't be vulnerable around anyone. Nobody was trust worthy. But the words were falling off my tongue and I couldn't stop myself as I yelled. "Every time I blink, I think somethings about to attack me. I couldn't even hope to sleep properly in Tartarus. Because being asleep means you can't defend yourself, and if you can't defend yourself, you die. I saw that several times before I even went to Tartarus, so-" I stopped myself. I couldn't talk about what happened before Tartarus. That stayed between me and Hades. And the realms. Will looked at me with pity.

"And please don't pity me. I hate that. No one could help my circumstances, so it's best to just get on with it." Will nodded.

"Ok." He said. "I swear on the Styx that you're safe in the infirmary. And I swear on the Styx that I won't let anyone hurt you while you're in my care. You need to trust me. I know you haven't trusted anyone in a long time." The observation shocked me, made me feel too open. "Now come on. Rest." I followed Will to the infirmary. He gave me some more nectar, telling me that it couldn't hurt. Gods knows how much healing I needed. He closed the curtains around my bed and left me. I sat there for a very long time. I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to get hurt. I didn't want to die. But something in the back of my mind told me I had to. I looked down, and noticed my body was glowing faintly. Glowing gold. It felt warm, and comforting, and like home. I took a deep breath, and started repeating the words "I'm okay. I am safe." Over and over in my head, like a mantra. I turned to my side, curled up in a foetal position. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in years, I willingly let myself drift off.

Percy woke me. "Hey, sleepy head." He said, grinning. "Will said I could wake you up. The campfire's started. You wanna come down?"

"Who's there?" I asked him.

"Pretty much everyone." He told me. I rubbed my hands over my face and slapped my cheek, a routine I was used to doing to make sure I was awake.

"Yeah, ok. Give me a second."

"Course." Percy wandered off and began fiddling with bits of medical equipment. I tried to run my hands through my hair to no avail. I needed it cut. There was a pair of scissors on the side. I picked them up, pulled a piece of my hair straight, and just… snipped. I let loose a breath I didn't know I was holding. It felt like I was saying goodbye to a part of myself. It sounded lame, but it felt like a fresh chapter. New hair, new me. I cut off more and more, my hair falling on the floor around me. Percy looked up from what he was doing and noticed me hacking at my head. "You alright there?" He asked me.

"Yes. I just… had to do something about this." I told him, gesturing to my hair.

"Cool. Hey, you wanna buzz it off?"

"Buzz it off?"

"Yeah, y'know, like get a trimmer and just buzz it all off. Cut it really short." He explained.

"I'd like that, I think." I told him.

"Nice. I've got one back in my cabin. Come on, we can buzz it off before you go to the campfire."

Percy led me to the Poseidon cabin and opened the door. "Welcome," he said, "To my humble abode."

"Well." I said, playing along and bowing. "I am honoured to be here, Perseus." Percy stopped and squinted at me.

"How'd you know that?" He asked.

"Know what?"

"That my real name is Perseus." He said. I felt a smile break out on my face and I began to laugh.

"It is? I didn't know. It's just a thing I do. To me, sometimes, Nico is Nicodemus. Sorry." I explained. Percy shrugged.

"Oh. Cool. Anyway, let's shave that head of yours." Percy led me to a chair covered in bits and bobs, and quickly swept them onto the floor before gesturing at me to sit down. I perched in the chair and Percy rolled me to the nearest mirror. "There you go. Now you can see behind you and in front of you. So you know I won't hurt you."

"Thank you." I said, feeling so grateful that he was making sure I was comfortable. Percy turned the razor on, and I flinched at the buzzing noise.

"It's all good. It won't hurt, I swear on the river Styx." I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Let's do this." I told him.

It kind of tickled. I watched thick locks of my matted hair fall to the floor as Percy pulled the razor across my head. It took about 20 minutes before it was all gone. "There you go!" Percy told me. I lifted a hand and ran it over my head. It fell smooth and slightly fuzzy. Brushing hair off my front as I stood, I turned to Percy and thanked him. "No problem, pal. You good?" I smiled and nodded. "Cool, cool. Then quickly go wash your head under the shower, and maybe change your clothes, and I'll take you to the campfire."

After having a quick shower and changing into a pair of jeans and a white top, I emerged from the girls bedroom area. Percy was sat on one of the beds in the boys part of the cabin. "Better?" He asked.

"Mmhmm." I hummed.

"Wow, who'd've have guessed you're actually a girl?" Percy joked, taking my hand and twirling me around.

"Ha ha." I said sarcastically. Smoothing out the front of my top, I sighed. "Right, let's go."

I scanned the area around the campfire when we arrived. My eyes fell on Nico, sitting with Reyna and watching Will and some other campers singing. I walked over to join them and Nico's eyes widened as I approached. "You shaved it all off." He noted.

"Yeah." I replied. "It was in the way."

"Fair enough. _Come stai_?" **_(A/N- means "how are you?" in Italian)_**

"Ok. _Meglio di quello che sono stato."_ ** _(A/N- means "Ok. Better than I have been.")_** I told him. Nico laughed slightly.

"No way!" He said, sarcasm dripping in his voice. I sat next to him and he put an arm around my shoulder, giving me a quick squeeze before letting go. "You want to grab a marshmallow?" I nodded, grabbing the oppurtunity to eat. In Tartarus, I hadn't been able to eat much when I wasn't with Damasen. I think it must have been the Phlegethon that kept me from dying of starvation. It was weird to me how readily available food was up here. Even before I was in Tartarus, because of the war, we were on rations. Now, you could eat as much as you wanted. And I intended to take every oppurtunity to do that that arose. Nico took me over to the marshmallow stand, and Percy tagged along with us to grab himself a marshmallow. Annabeth jogged over and gave Percy a chaste kiss.

"Hey, Issy. How was archery?" She asked.

"It was fun. I managed to hit the bullseye three time. Sorry, times, three times." Annabeth ruffled my new buzz cut.

"Congrats! Loving the cut by the way." She told me.

"Thank you. I had to get rid of my hair and it was too matted to be salvaged." I laughed, and Annabeth joined in. Suddenly, a gasp came from the crowd, looking above my head. Some were looking above Nico's.

"Huh, I guess your dad's finally actually claimed you. Congratulations." Percy said, slapping Nico on the back. Nico stared upwards at the skull above his head. I looked up and saw one above my own head. I waved a hand through it. The image flickered but didn't disappear. I saw tears in Nico's eyes.

"What?" I began to ask, but I was cut off as the fire exploded. I ducked, covering my head and reaching for the dagger I forgot had been taken away from me. I rolled away from the flames and stood again, darkness swirling around me. I noticed that Percy and Jason had already drawn their swords, and Nico had his hands on the ground, ready to summon an army of the undead. Several other campers were arming themselves and getting ready to fight. A figure appeared in the fire, and stepped out of it.

"This is giving me wild flashbacks." Percy muttered. Annabeth laughed slightly.

"Tell me about it." She replied. The figure spoke as it stepped out the fire.

"Put down your weapons. I am not here to harm anyone." Its voice boomed. The fire began to trail off the figure. A tall man, about 10 foot, with long black hair and dark brown eyes emerged from the fire.

"Hades?" I heard a voice ask, and then realised it was my own.

"Isabella." He replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw weapons being lowered, but noticed that they were not put away. People didn't trust Hades. "I have come to inform you of-" Hades was cut off as what looked like a shooting star hit the ground. A young adult with short, curly blonde hair unfurled and stood tall.

"That's always so much fun! How are we all? Ah, Will, Austin, Kayla, good to see you."

"Dad." Came the reply from all three children. Their tone suggested this wasn't the first ever time he'd done something like this.

"And you must be Isabella!" He said, as he approached me and pulled me into a hug. I stiffened. "It's good to finally meet you, cousin. I trust my gift got you through alright?"

"Your gift…?" I asked. What was he on about?

"Yes, my gift. Have you not told her yet Uncle Hades?"

"No." Was his simple reply. Hades had a look on his face like talking to his nephew physically pained him.

"Ah, all right. Basically, when you fell into 'The Big T' as they call it, Hades called me up and asked for me to give you my gift. So you could heal and all that. To be honest with you, I didn't really know if it would work, but hey, I'm glad it did! I don't know if you have any of my other gifts, just check with my children and see if anything you think is abnormal is something they can do. But yeah, as long as you're all good, I'm all good."

"The gold thread?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, you've seen it?" Apollo asked, eyebrows raised. "Well, yeah, it's golden because of the sun and everything. And it seems to do its job."

"Right." Percy said.

"My daughter." Hades said, and stepped towards me. "I am sorry. I could not help you in Tartarus. Even I don't dare go down there. I am glad you survived." I didn't really know what to say to that. I just sort of blinked at him. "I must go now. I came only to tell you about Apollo's gift. Goodbye, my children." Hades said, as he disappeared back into the fire. Nico just stared at the spot where Hades had been. Apollo cleared his throat.

"Well, I might as well stick around for a bit." He said. Some of the chatter returned. I felt confused, and went over to hug Nico. As I did so, I heard Apollo's voice asking "Ooh, are we singing campfire songs? Give me a ukulele, I'll join in! I love campfire songs!"

 ** _A/N- Hello! Please review! I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, I have a fanfiction account on Instagram now, it's marauders._.fanfic. I'll probably be posting little oneshots on their, so follow if you want to read them! Also, I've published two new stories on my fanfiction account, go check them out! As always, thanks to my amazing beta reader a311243549! You guys are awesome! xx_**

 ** _Alaya out :)_**


	32. Another godly visit How embarrassing

**_A/N- Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It hasn't been beta-ed, so please excuse any mistakes. I am finally getting the story to the place I want it to be, I think. Thanks for sticking with me, and as alway, PLEASE REVIEW! xx_**

 ** _Alaya out :)_**

Chapter 30

A couple of days had passed since two gods visited the camp at once. Nobody had stopped looking at me weirdly, and I didn't know what I could do to show them I wasn't dangerous. I was sat in the dining area when it happened. I was eating with Nico, wolfing down my food. Habits like that tended to stick with you when you'd experienced never knowing when you were going to get your next meal. I don't remember anything else, but I've been told what happened.

A red headed girl walked over, and placed her hand on my shoulder. I dropped my cutlery noisily on my plate. "Is? Are you ok?" Nico asked me. My breathing came in gulps, and I pulled a face as if I was in pain. "Oh gods! Are you choking?" Nico began to panic, but I did not answer. I just sat bolt upright, facing straight ahead and swaying slightly. Nico stood, and went to hit my back when the girl, Rachel, swatted him away.

"No!" She said in an authoritative tone. A small crowd had gathered around us now. Nico had his palms out, shadows swirling around him. His hands dropped when he noticed something spilling out of Rachel's mouth, swirling around her and me. A strangled voice came from our throats.

" _The world around shall crumble,_

 _A friend will make him stumble,_

 _A double blooded Hades child,_

 _Shall let her powers run completely wild._ "

The next part I _do_ remember. I felt my eyes roll forward and I gasped for air. I felt shaky. Everyone around me was staring at me and anxiety clawed at my chest. I looked at Rachel, confusion written all over my face. "Well _that_ was weird." Said a boy from the Iris table. My mind suddenly realised what was going on. My eyes flitted over the tables around me and I stood up suddenly.

"Excuse me." I said, and fell backwards into the shadows I'd conjured.

I carried on falling as I arrived in my bedroom. I fell onto my bed and hugged the sheets, focusing on slowing my breathing and trying to calm myself down. Apollo was the god of prophecy or whatever, wasn't he? It was probably just a side effect of his 'gift'. There was a sheepish knock at my door. I stayed silent. "Isabella, are you decent?" A voice I recognized but could not quite place asked. I made a muffled sound in answer, and Will stepped around my door. "Hey." He said in a soothing tone. "You alright?" I took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I don't know. Is this one of the 'gifts' Apollo mentioned?" I added quotations with my fingers around the word 'gifts'. Will grimaced at me.

"No. There are oracles that can deliver the prophecies, but at the moment Rachel is the Oracle of Delphi. And all the others are spread out around the world. No child of Apollo has been born as an oracle, and no person who has received Apollo's 'gifts', who are few and far between may I add, have magically been able to deliver prophecies. I'm really sorry, Is, but I don't know what's happening here." I felt a little frown beginning to tug at my features. I let out a long breath and clenched my fists to stop them from shaking.

"Ok." I looked at the floor, trying to think of _some_ reason as to why I was suddenly spouting glimpses of the future. Will scooted towards me, and, with slight hesitation, wrapped me in a hug. I went stiff for a second, but forced myself to relax. Will withdrew from the hug and looked like he was concentrating on something. He shook his head a couple of times, then took a deep breath in and said;

"I reckon, if dad has a shred of curiosity, he's gonna come back to Camp and see what's going on. He'll probably be aware that someone else just spouted off a prophecy, without an oracle no less, and he's probably gonna want to know what's going on." I nodded. Nico appeared from the dark and wrapped me into a hug. I suddenly felt like crying, and wrapped my arms tightly around him. He murmured comforts into my hair in Italian, then pulled away and planted a kiss on my forehead. I smiled sadly at him.

"I'm a bit of a freak, aren't I?" Nico glared at me.

"Isabella Aurora Di Angelo, you are _not_ a freak. Don't ever think that you are." He told me fiercely.

"Yeah. You're talented, not a freak." Will agreed. There was another knock at the door, and this time Piper entered.

"Hey guys, just thought you'd want to know that Apollo's Iris messaged us. Austin's talking to him right now, trying to keep him busy so he doesn't get bored and leave. Come talk to him?" I stood up and began to walk out of the room. Nico draped his arm around my shoulders and walked with me. Piper led us away, and Will followed behind us.

I arrived in the dining hall to a hushed crowd. Austin was talking to Apollo about what exactly had happened, explaining in painful and unnecessary detail to try and lengthen the story and keep his interest. Austin looked to the side and saw me approaching, so he stepped aside. "Here she is, dad." I stepped into the frame.

"Ah, Isabella." Apollo greeted me. "So, apparently, you have been spouting prophecies like there's no tomorrow."

"Only one." I told him. "Why?"

"Well, because I'm curious, my dear." He told me, grinning.

"I- I mean, why am I speaking prophecies?" I asked him.

"Hm. Well, you see, I don't exactly know. It's never really happened before. I think it's rather interesting. And fun! What did it feel like? What exactly happened?"

"Well, I got this really bad um… ah, what do you call it?" I turned to Nico. " _La emicrania_?" I asked him.

"Headache." He told me.

"Right. Well I got this really bad headache, and my chest got really tight. Like I couldn't breathe. And then I blacked out."

"And delivered the prophecy." Apollo continued, excitedly. "Right, right, and what happened afterwards?"

"Well, my head felt like it was exploding and my throat really hurt. Also I couldn't stop shaking." Apollo nodded sagely.

"Interesting. Interesting." He said. "Well, I don't have a clue what's happening to you. Should be fun to find out though!" He told me. He peered over his shoulder and called to someone, then turned back to me. "I've gotta go. Nice seeing you, Austin, Will, Kayla." He smiled at each of his children in turn, then the message cut off."

"Well, Percy." A voice from the Hermes table piped up. "Looks like you've been replaced as the most messed up demigod. A visit from a god twice in less than a week? Looks like Isabella's the one getting attention now." Nico spun around, anger written on his face, but I grabbed his arm.

"Neeks, it's ok. He didn't mean anything by it." I told him. Percy looked at me, as if checking I was ok with the observation, which I was, then turned back to the boy.

"Travis, I think you might be right. And thank the gods for that." He chuckled slightly.

"Alright campers." Chiron's voice called out into the dining hall. "Resume your normal activities. Isabella, please come with me."


	33. Quest time

Chapter 31

Annabeth was waiting for us in the Big House. "Hi!" She said, wrapping me in an embrace. I was so proud of myself because this time, I didn't stiffen up. I made myself breathe slowly, and hugged her back.

"So what's going on?" I asked. Chiron offered me a seat and I took it.

"Annabeth, if you would."

"Right. So, this morning, my cousin, Magnus, messaged me. He's asked if we can send someone to help him on his quest, and I said we'd see what you could do. I think you'd be perfect for this quest Issy! You can obviously fight amazingly well, you can travel fast, you can control the dead, which, trust me, will help when it comes to him and his friends, and you can heal really fast. If you don't want to go, I completely understand, I just think you would be the best person for the job." I blinked. Well, that was a lot.

"Well? What do you think Isabella?" Chiron asked me.

"Um, is Magnus a demigod too?"

"Kind of, yeah." Annabeth told me. "He's a son of the Norse god Frey."

"Wow, okay, um, just how many gods exist?" Annabeth laughed slightly and smiled as she said,

"A whole lot. Like, a crazy amount of gods. I try not to think about it too much, I think it's for the best."

"Right. Well, how long would I be gone for?"

"We're not sure." Chiron told me. "You should expect to be away for a couple of months I think."

"Okay. Can I think about it for a bit?"

"Of course." Chiron said. "Although, we would like your answer by the end of today if possible."

"Thank you." I got up to leave, talk to Nico, maybe talk to Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I'd previously been told that the group had been on a stupid amount of quests. I thought getting some insight from him might be helpful.

"Er, Isabella, would you stay behind for a second? Annabeth, you may leave." Annabeth smiled at Chiron and exited the room. "Isabella, I think it is imperative you go on this quest." He told me.

"What? Why?"

"I think this quest might be what is talked about in the prophecies. ' _Save all existences_.' I have not told the other campers yet, seeing as the war with Gaia has only just finished, but we are being threatened again. This time, by the _Jötunn_ , giants. They have teamed together. The giants of our mythology are angry that we have destroyed their mother, and they have persuaded the _Jötunn_ to join their cause. If we don't stop them, Isabella, they will destroy everything." Chiron told me gravely.

"I- I need to talk to Nico." I said. Chiron nodded and I left the Big House.

Nico was in the Hades cabin. He was lying down, something in his ears playing loud music that I could hear. He sat up as he noticed me, and held his arms out for a hug. I obliged, hugging him tight. "So, what's going on?" I pulled away and looked at him.

"Neeks, listen I… look, I know I've only just come back, but I think I might have to go again. Chiron has a quest for me and-"

"No." Nico interrupted me.

"You haven't even heard what I have to say yet!" I protested.

"I don't care. No. You're not going."

"Nico! For one thing, I don't need your permission, I came here to have a civil conversation with you. I know you've been on quests before, and I would like to be fully informed before I make any decisions. I can see that's not going to happen here though, so I'm going to talk to Percy, Annabeth, and possibly Grover if he's here and see what happens."

"Grover isn't here." Nico said plainly.

" _Di immortales,_ Nico, what is _wrong_ with you? Can we please just talk about this?"

"By the gods, Is, I can't lose you again! If you end up in Tartarus, and I don't find you, or worse, you _die_ , I would never forgive myself! And… and you've only just got back. You need a break, you need to relax. If you push yourself too hard you'll only delay your recovery! Trust me, I would know."

"Nico, I know you want to protect me, but Chiron says I _have_ to go on this quest."

"Rubbish!" Nico interrupted me again, but I held up a hand to silence him.

"You know that bit of prophecy I told you the other day?"

"Yes."

"Well, Chiron thinks this is it. Listen, you can't tell anyone, but he says that the giants and the _Jötunn_ have teamed up. They want revenge for us killing Gaia. Nico, if they're out to destroy the world, they need to be stopped. And if I'm the only one who can stop them, I have to try. Please?" Nico was quiet for about a minute. I was getting more and more anxious the more time he took to speak. "Please say something." I begged. Nico took a deep breath.

"Okay. Okay, I understand. But I want you to _promise_ me you'll Iris-message me every day." I nodded.

"Yes. I can do that." Nico smiled sadly at me.

"Need any tips?"

"Have you got any?"

"Always, _always_ have a plan. Don't just go in with no idea of what you want to do. And try not to let people manipulate you into doing their will. Make sure every decision is your own. I didn't do that once, and it ended badly. And don't _ever_ push yourself further than you can go. It will almost always not end well. Be prepared to improvise. The plan might not always work, so always have a backup plan. And, well, just don't die. Don't you dare." I gave Nico another hug, holding him tightly.

" _Fratello_ , I'll be okay. I survived for over 70 years in Tartarus, and we all know time works differently down there, so technically it was a whole lot more than that. The giants won't kill me. _Fratello_ , you know me. My sheer force of will will stop them from hurting me." **_(A/N- 'Fratello' means 'brother' in Italian)_** Nico ruffled my hair.

"Okay, if you want, you should go and talk to Percy. Gods know that man is experienced when it comes to quests." I gave Nico one more hug and stepped back into the shadows, willing myself outside the Poseidon cabin.

I knocked on the door, crossing my fingers and hoping that Percy would be in there, but he wasn't. That was the point where I had an idea. Something I'd never done before. What if I tried to shadow travel directly to a _person_? With shadow travelling, I'd only ever travelled to certain _places_ , but it would be so helpful if I could find someone just by willing it. I shut my eyes and thought of Percy. How we'd met, how he and Annabeth had saved me, how he'd helped me cut my hair, how noble he was. I focused so hard that I heard myself whisper the name "Percy" out loud, and I stepped back into the shadows.

" _Di immortales!"_ I heard a voice yell as I fell from a height. I landed on something hard, and was immediately pushed onto the ground with a sword to my throat. I stared up at a disgruntled looking Percy, who realized it was me and lowered his weapon. "Issy? What in the underworld was that about?" I stood up, brushing myself off.

"Sorry. New way of shadow travelling, I'd never tried it before." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Right. You all good?"

"Actually, I have a question." I told him.

"Go ahead."

"Okay, well, Chiron wants me to go on this quest, and I kind of want to and kind of don't. I don't want to leave just yet, I want to get settled."

"Makes sense." Percy told me. "You've had a really tough life, dude."

"Well, the thing is, I think I might have to go. And he wants an answer by the end of today. Basically, there's this… okay, I'm not really supposed to talk about it, but there's this prophecy." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Us big three kids can't catch a break. Prophecies suck ass man."

"Right. It goes like ' _A double-blooded daughter of the underworld_

 _Will save all existence and peace will unfurl."_

"Oof. That sounds like a big one. Do you know what it's about?"

"Okay, please don't tell anyone, Chiron told me he was deliberately keeping it secret, but apparently the _jötunn_ and the giants have teamed up. The giants are angry about what we did to Gaia, and they've persuaded the _jötunn_ to join them. Percy, I've been told this prophecy since I was little. Hades, my _father_ was telling me how dire it was, and he's apparently one of the least dramatic gods! I'm not going to lie, I'm scared. Really scared. And I know you've been on a lot of quests, and obviously you're still alive, and basically I'm just wondering how you did it."

"Wow. That's a lot. Gods, there's always something new isn't there? You need a hand on this quest?" He asked me.

"That's really kind of you Percy, but I think I already have help. Annabeth's asked me to help her cousin and his friends."

"Magnus? He's a really cool dude! You'll love him. Out of curiosity, do he and Annabeth know about this prophecy?"

"No, they don't. And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention it to them Percy."

"Sure, no problem. So you want some advice, huh?" I nodded. "Well, my thing is that I just bullshit my way through. Annabeth's normally the one who comes up with the plans, I just make up what I'm doing on the spot. Which probably isn't the best way to do things, but hey, it's worked for me so far." I laughed slightly. "Basically, all I can say is trust your gut. Have faith in your own decisions and don't double guess yourself. It would probably really help if you had an Annabeth with you, but I guess you've got your group already. Also, she wants us to go to college together, so she probably wouldn't go anyway." Percy chuckled.

"Thanks, Percy. I appreciate it. I'll see you around." I said, and turned to leave.

"Wait," Percy grabbed my arm and I spun around, anxiety building in my chest. I forced myself to stay calm. "Did you say you were going tonight?"

"I guess so. I think that's what Chiron and Magnus want."

"Wow. Okay. Issy? Look after yourself. Don't die."

"Thanks for the advice." I smiled, laughing slightly. Percy pulled me into a hug, and I hugged him back. He pulled away first, grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"Good luck." He said. "I'll pray for you."

"Thank you." He let go of my shoulders and drew his sword again.

"See you on the other side, Issy." He told me.

"Bye, Percy. Thanks for everything."

I was outside of the Big House by 6 that evening. Nico was with me. I knocked on the door to Chiron's office, and was invited in.

"You've made your decision?" Chiron asked me, raising an eyebrow. I took a deep breath.

"Yes. I'll go. I kind of need to." Chiron bowed his head and muttered something under his breath.

"I have been told that Magnus and his friends will be ready to meet you at any time this evening at this point." Chiron pointed to a location on the map he had rolled out in front of him.

"Alright. I may as well go now." Nico made a noise of protest. "Neeks, I'll be okay. And I promise I'll Iris-message you as much as I can. If it makes you feel any better, you can travel with me to meet him, but then you have to come back, okay?" Nico looked at me, exasperated, but then nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit, Chiron."

"See you in a bit, Nico. And Isabella? Good luck. May the gods be with you."

"Bye, Chiron." I said, then took my brothers hand and stepped back into the shadows.

 ** _A/N- Please review! This will probably be my last update before Christmas, so I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or whatever else you celebrate. I hope you have a fantastic time!_**

 ** _Alaya out :)_**


	34. What the heck are Einherji?

Chapter 32

They appeared atop a tall tree. Nico clung to the branch next to Isabella, looking around to check if they'd been spotted. Everyone carried on walking by, so he assumed they hadn't been, and began to climb down, gracefully swinging from branch to branch. "Come on, Is. I'll catch you if you fall!" He grinned cheekily at his twin and she stuck her tongue in in reply, lowering herself down.

"We're looking for a Magnus, right?" Nico asked. Issy nodded. "Alright. You know what he looks like?" Issy pulled out a picture Annabeth had given her and showed it to Nico.

"He looks like this." She told him. Nico nodded.

"Let's go find us a Magnus, then."

The twins wandered the park for half an hour until they stumbled across two teenagers, looking as though they were in deep conversation. One of them, a boy wearing a beanie, had his hands wrapped around a necklace he was wearing. The other, a girl, Isabella thought, although she could have been wrong, had her hand on the boys knee in a comforting gesture. Isabella turned to Nico, pretending to start a friendly chat. "What?" Nico asked, suddenly alert and fearing danger.

"Just pretend to talk to me," Isabella said, "I want to listen to what they're saying." Nico exhaled, a slight laugh, and shook his head.

"Okay." Isabella tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and began gesturing slightly with her arms, faking an appearance of talking.

"Nah, Annabeth knows what she's doing. It'll be fine."

"You know who her parent is?" The girl asked.

"Annabeth wouldn't say. Said it was complicated. We'll find out eventually."

"It'll all be fine Magnus. Although, if she doesn't hurry up and show her face soon, we might as well leave without her." Isabella nodded at Nico, and sheepishly approached the bench.

"Magnus?" She asked. The boy looked up.

"Isabella!" He said, standing with a grin on his face and sticking out his hand. Isabella hesitantly shook it.

"Who's this?" The girl asked, pointing at Nico.

"I could say the same about you." Nico retorted.

"Hey." Isabella interrupted. "Uh, I hope it's alright, but I brought my brother, Nico, with me. He's not staying for the quest, he just didn't want me to come here alone." Magnus shook Nico's hand.

"I'm Alex." The green haired girl kept her hands firmly by her side, and Isabella felt like the girl was probably quite hostile. She felt something else as well, something she couldn't quite place, but filled her with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Nico was firing questions at Magnus and Alex, but Isabella's mind was elsewhere. There was something off about these two. What was it?

"Where will you be taking her?" Nico asked in a threatening tone.

"Um, wherever we need to go, really." Magnus had a weird look on his face.

"And you'll look after her?"  
"I'll try my best."

"Not good enough. My sister has been through too much. If you don't bring her home safe, there will be consequences." Suddenly, Isabella grabbed Nico's arm and pulled him away.

" _Di immortales_ Is, what?" Nico asked as he stumbled backwards.

"Nico, they're _dead_."

"What? No they're-" Nico's brow furrowed as he used his power, checking their life forces. Their _non- existent_ life forces.

"Father of _Zeus_ , how did I not realise that sooner?" Nico was shocked at himself. He was always on guard. How did he miss something as important as this? Grabbing his sister's hand, Nico shadow travelled them behind the two dead people and held a sword to Magnus's back. He stood very close so that no one could see what he was doing. Magnus held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. Isabella had her dagger held to Alex's neck. The girl kicked Isabella in the knee, but she stood firm and kept her balance.

"Dude, chill out." Magnus said, trying to calm the situation.

"Who. Are. You?" Nico growled. Magnus laughed nervously.

"Did Annabeth not tell you? We're _einherji_. We're descendants of Norse gods who died with a blade in their hand. I'm a son of Frey, Alex here is a child of Loki." Nico took a step back.

"Seriously?" Isabella asked, confused. "How many gods are there? Apparently there's Egyptian gods on top of Greek and Roman gods, and now you're telling me there's Norse gods. _Di immortales_ , how does that even work?" Alex shrugged, then hissed as the dagger dug slightly into her neck because of the movement. Isabella dropped the dagger, but still clutched it in her hand, ready to defend herself.

"Ok. I'm going to Iris-message Annabeth. I'll be back in a second. Issy, you alright if I do that?" Isabella nodded and smiled comfortingly at her brother. Nico looked around and went to find some water he could place a call from.

"So you _are_ actually dead?" Isabella asked the two _einherji_. They turned to face her.

"Yeah." Magnus said. "We are. Weird, right?"

"Not the weirdest thing I've ever heard." Isabella bit her lip and looked at the ground. How could life be this weird? This had to be some weird fever dream, and if she just went along with it, she'd wake up, back with mama and Nico and Bianca and they'd all be fine.

"So what's the deal with you and goth boy? How did you know we were dead?" Alex asked. Magnus elbowed her arm.

"A little more tact, Alex. She's doing us a favour."

"Er, I'm a daughter of Hades. It's kind of my thing."

"The god of the underworld?" Magnus asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." Issy didn't know how she felt around this topic of conversation, so kept her answer brief.

"So what can you do?" Magnus pursued the subject, curious.

"I, um… Well, I can control the dead. And shadows. I can summon skeletons and stuff. I've even vaporized monsters before. So, yeah…" Issy trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. Magnus exhaled through his nose, a quiet laugh.

"Cool. It's funny, we're polar opposites, you and I. I heal people, you know? Keep them alive." Issy smiled at him awkwardly, wondering when her brother would come back. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe she should just turn around and- no. She had to do this. She'd said she'd help, and it _was_ written in a prophecy after all. Alex had stayed oddly silent for a while, but she suddenly began speaking.

"Hang on, if you can control the dead, does that mean you can control us? Because I'm _not_ ok with that."

"Um, I don't know. I'm not sure I'd even want to try and do that. Er, look, sorry, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it."

"It's ok." Magnus said. "If Annabeth trusts you, then I trust you. And I hope Alex does to." The girl had a look on her face that obviously meant she was still undecided. An awkward silence settled in the air. Issy wasn't sure if she should say something. She opened her mouth, but luckily at that moment Nico appeared next to her.

"Their story checks out. Annabeth says sorry she forgot to mention it." He then turned to address the two dead demigods. "So when do you leave?" He asked.

"As soon as possible." Magnus replied, a sympathetic smile tugging at his lips. Nico took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok. I'm just going to say goodbye to my sister." Nico beckoned with his head that his sister should follow him as he walked away from Alex and Magnus. She did so, a look of anxiousness on her features.

When Nico felt satisfied that they could say their goodbyes privately, he lapsed back into his native Italian. "Are you ok with this?" He asked Issy, his voice laced with concern. Issy let out a long breath, then nodded.

"Yeah. I think so. I've kind of got to be. And if anything happens, well then I can just Iris-message you." Nico pulled his twin into a tight embrace.

"Don't you dare die." He mumbled into her hair. "Or I'll kill you." Issy grinned slightly at that.

"I'll try not to." She replied.

"Good. I'll be checking up on you, you know that, right?" Nico said. "If anything happens, I will be right there."

"And I'll be doing the same." Isabella promised. "If you even think about dying while I'm away, I will kick your ass." Nico smiled as he pulled away from the hug. "Love you, Neeks." Issy told him.

"I love you too, _piaga_." Nico said. **_(A/N- 'Piaga' means 'annoying girl' in Italian)._** Isabella stuck her tongue out at him and Nico laughed as he took a step backwards. "I'll see you soon."

"Yes." Issy agreed. "See you soon." And with that, Nico stepped into the shadows and disappeared.

Alex and Magnus were back in deep conversation as Isabella approached them again. Alex noticed her first, and turned Magnus to face the girl. "You ready?" Alex asked her. Isabella nodded slowly, took a deep breath and sighed. "Yes. Let's go."

 ** _A/N- Eh up lads! It's another chapter, which I would love reviews for. Thank you so much to the reviewer who called themselves 'hi', who's reviews gave me the kick up the arse to finish this chapter (which has been in the works for a long time). I hope it's okay! And as always, PLEASE REVIEW! Ta very much._**

 ** _~Alaya out :)_**


	35. I should probably learn sign language

Chapter 33

Alex and Magnus led Issy to a bustling high street. "Blitz should be in Sephora. Come on." The trio entered a makeup store, and Magnus made a beeline for a short man putting eyeshadow on his arm and a taller man wearing a red and white scarf who looked exasperated. The tall one made a movement with his hands and the shorter of the two made a gesture back. Isabella looked on in confusion. She leaned in towards Magnus,

"What are they doing with their hands?" Magnus laughed and signed something at the taller of the two as we approached them.

"It's sign language. Hearth's deaf. You know sign language, don't you?" Issy shook her head, embarrassed. "Ah, it's alright." Magnus said, "You'll learn pretty quickly. It helps to have an actual deaf person to practice with."

"Is this the help?" Said the shorter man, sticking out a hand. "Blitz. And you are?"

"Um, Isabella." She said as she shook Blitz's hand.

"Brilliant." Blitz said. "So what can you do?"

"Well, er, I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I can shadow travel. And I can make people disintegrate."

"The disintegrate bit should have come first." Blitz said, signing along as he spoke. Hearth signed something. "He agrees." Blitz told her.

"Sorry." She said. A smile split Blitz's face.

"I was just joking, it's alright!" Blitz began to say something else but Alex interrupted him.

"Guys, we should probably head back to the hotel. Although, I don't know if Miss Death here will be able to come in."

"Maybe we could give it a go," Magnus said, "I mean, maybe if she's the daughter of Hades, she will be considered, well, dead enough to be in there."

"What's going on?" Asked Issy, not following the conversation.

"Hotel Valhalla. It's where we basically live." Magnus explained. "Only thing is, you have to be dead to get in there. And you're kind of not."

"I hadn't noticed," replied the Italian, sarcastically. "Although, um, I've been in the underworld more than the living. I don't know if that counts."

"Probably not." Said Alex. "I mean you're what, 15? Maximum you've spent in the underworld is seven and a half years, and given that you're actually alive, it's more likely that it won't help."

"It was more than seven years." Issy said quietly.

"Oh, sorry, eight." Alex said mockingly. Magnus shot her a reproachful look.

"Alex, what is with you?"

"I just… I don't like the idea that this girl can control us. Don't get me wrong, I trust your cousin, but this girl can manipulate the dead. And that's what we are. Who knows what she might do?"

"I do." Issy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I know what I'm going to do, and it isn't hurt you. I've been part of a prophecy for as long as I remember, and if I recall correctly, it's about giants, not… I can't remember what you call yourselves. And I don't even know if I could control you. I'm not going to try it though, because trust is important to me. I survived hundreds of years in Tartarus, and it's because I knew the right person to be with. My instincts are telling me I can trust you, so please don't prove me wrong." She was breathing hard by the end of her rant.

"Tartarus? Isn't that where all the Greek monsters go?" Blitz asked. Isabella nodded. "Isn't it meant to be worse than hell?" She nodded again, quiet, staring at the floor. Alex blinked slowly, wheels turning in their brain as they processed what had been said.

"OK," Alex said, "OK. I'm sorry." Issy looked up and gave a weak smile. Magnus let out a breath.

"That was intense." Isabella let out a slight laugh.

"Yes, it was." She agreed.

"We should get to the hotel." Alex said. "Come on. We'll show you how to get there."

The five of them arrived at a pond in the park they'd departed from. "Jump on in." Alex instructed, a slight grin on their face. Isabella frowned.

"What? No." She said.

"It genuinely works." Magnus said. "Look, Alex will go first!"

"Wha-" the green haired person began, but they didn't finish. Magnus pushed them forward into the river, and they disappeared. Hearth went next, and Issy found herself realising that it probably wasn't an attempt to kill her. Blitz jumped in, leaving just Issy and Magnus.

"You want to go first?" He asked. Issy looked at him, then at the pond, then back at him.

"Please." She said. Magnus nodded and indicated for her to go. Issy took a deep breath, and threw herself into the water.

Cold. That was the first thing she felt. Then burning lungs, screaming that she needed to breathe in, and she was falling. Free falling, her hands stretched out, her eyes wide open, trying desperately to cling onto what looked like _branches_. A hand grabbed hers, and she was pulled up by one Alex Fierro. Magnus landed neatly next to her. "We're sneaking you in the back way, to see if this will actually work." Alex explained.

"Follow me!" Blitz instructed, and began climbing down. "And you might want to come quickly. Don't want Ratatosk on us again." He pulled a grim face at Magnus and Hearth. Issy sensed that there was a story there, but figured now wasn't the time to ask. She clambered down, following Blitz's exact steps, not wanting to fall. She could hear a scuttling above her, but chose to ignore it and try to focus on the task in hand.

They climbed for what felt like an hour, but was probably only twenty minutes, then reached a door. Hearth signed something. "You ready?" Blitz translated. Issy took a deep breath and reached forward. She took the door handle, twisted it and pulled the door open. Her breath flew out of her lungs and the ground came up to meet her.


	36. Cassie

My breath came in short gasps. I wasn't meant to be here. This was not a place for the living. Magnus placed a hand on my back and I instinctively pulled away, putting my hand on the hilt of my dagger and readying myself to fight.

"You alright there?" Alex asked dryly. I nodded, saving my breath.

"No she's not. She can't breathe right." Magnus said. I frowned at him and he shrugged innocently. "Son of Frey," He said in way of explanation.

"Right," I tried to take a deep breath, and found that my lungs actually filled. I took another. Another. It got easier. I shook my head. "Okay, let's go."

I followed the unusual group up the stairs. I could smell the death in the air, feel it like an ache in my bones. "Almost there," Magnus told me. "We'll come up with a game plan once we get to my room."

"Alright."

Finally, we came to a stop. Magnus unlocked the door and gestured for us to go inside. The room was big and airy. There was a sort of atrium as well, a space with a garden and a round bench. Alex flopped on the unmade bed, like she'd been here before, Blitz sat on the bench in the atrium, and Hearth sat on the floor, his head leaning on the dwarf's legs. Magnus pulled a whiteboard seeming out of thin air, gods knew where he got it from, and began to write, 'Our kickass plan for saving the world'. He cleared his throat. "Right, so, here's what I'm thinking," he drew a branch off the map and jotted down notes, "we go to Jötunheim, and improvise from there." Hearth signed something at him. Alex tutted and signed something back. She spoke as she signed, "No need to be so pessimistic, Hearth. It's what we've always done."

"I have an idea." I said. "Alcyoneus was designed to oppose my father. If all of you can take on him, I can probably destroy some of your Jötuns. I won't be able to kill all of them, and I'll obviously help with some of the Greek giants, it's just Alcyoneus I need to stay away from." Blitz raised his eyebrows, and addressed the group.

"Well. That's the most formulated plan I think we've ever had," he turned and began speaking solely to me, "Sounds like something we can do. Just keep All Cones away from you."

"Alcyoneus," I corrected him, "but yes, if you can keep him away, that would be really helpful." Magnus had been signing furiously throughout all this, and I suddenly realised that he was translating our conversation for Hearth. "Oh gods, I'm sorry. I wish I could be more able to help."

"It's alright," Magnus grinned as he signed, "Hearth's pretty good at lip reading, most of this is just to be courteous." Hearth stuck his tongue out and moved his hands. Alex snorted and translated for me.

"He says 'Courteous my ass.'"

"Oh."

"Anyway," Magnus ploughed on, "so, that's a start. Keep Alcyoneus away from Issy. What should we pack?"

"Scarves!" Blitz said immediately. Hearth looked at him with an endearing smile.

"Right. Clothes in general would probably be good." Magnus said,

"And food." Alex chimed in. "I'm a growing boy."

"You're a guy for now?" Blitz asked. Alex nodded.

"Yup," they said, popping the 'p', "he/ him pronouns at the moment guys." I blinked.

"So you were a girl, now you're a boy?" I asked.

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" Alex stood up. Magnus glanced at me.

"Please tell me you don't," He said, "because then we'd probably have to chuck you out, and I think we need you." I shook my head,

"No, I just wanted to check." I tapped my head. "Everything's all a bit new to me." Magnus smiled and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Right. Well, that's that then." Alex sat back down, though his jaw was clenched and I thought I'd probably upset him. Humans, I thought. Of course I was glad to be out of Tartarus, but did people have to be so complicated? I seemed to put my foot in it all the time, and I never meant to. I didn't much like hurting people for the sake of hurting them.

"You're right Hearth," Blitz's voice dragged me out of my thoughts. "We'll need weapons. Plenty of weapons." Magnus added it to the list.

We sat, formulating a plan as best we could. Then came the part I was dreading; Blitz cleared his throat and said, "Right. Special talents. What do we got?"

"Well, obviously I can do the whole healing thing," Magnus lifted his hands, "and I've got Jack." He fingered the pendant lying against his chest.

"All due respect," I began, "how is a necklace a special talent?"

"Jack's actually a sword. He turns into a portable pendant form, so I always have a weapon close. We can kinda talk telepathically."

"Right. Of course." I muttered. Alex glared at me.

"I can shapeshift if we need, but don't forget that it takes a lot out of me. Don't rely on it completely."

"We won't." Magnus translated for me as Hearth signed.

"I can help out in a fashion crisis. We all already know that I'm good at making things." Alex gave a wry smile and nodded. Hearth began signing again, and Blitz said aloud what the elf was silently saying.

"Heath says he's more than happy to use his magic. And the cards."

"Cool beans," Magnus looked at me, "So, I know we talked about it briefly, but what exactly can you do Isabella?" I crossed my arms self consciously over my chest. I was used to working on my own, all this team work was odd. I cleared my throat.

"Uhm, well I can control shadows, travel in them. I guess that can be useful for a quick escape, although I haven't practiced much with it, and I can't cover long distances all in one go."

"That will come in handy," Blitz spoke, "where we're going there will probably be a lot of shadows." I glanced at him. He caught my eyes, and I quickly turned away, raising my eyebrows.

"I can also control the dead, you know, summon skeletons. If I absolutely had to, I could see if I can control you two," I looked at Alex and Magnus. Alex began shaking his head. He stood and advanced threateningly. I felt a pull in my gut, a knee jerk reaction. Tendrils of shadow started unfurling from my hands.

"No. No way. You are not doing that," he turned to Magnus, " I told you we couldn't trust her. I said, I said," his voice had gotten louder and louder, until Magnus grabbed him by the shoulders and cut him off.

"Babe. Stop. It's okay, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it." Alex struggled in Magnus's arms but he held him firm. "Alex," a grunt as he struggled to contain the green haired boy, "Alex, Alex look at me. Look at me. Calm down. If you need to go outside, I'll go with you. It's okay." Alex relented, huffed and nodded. Magnus took his hand and led Alex to the door. He turned back and gave me a kind smile as he stepped outside, then he pulled the door shut behind him.

"Well that was awkward." Blitz grinned. Hearth made a disgruntled noise and lightly hit Blitz on his knee. "Ow!" Blitz exclaimed, "What was that for?" Hearth just sighed and rolled his eyes at me. I decided I liked the elf.

I sat quietly, occupied with my thoughts. Blitz and Hearth were signing back and forth at each other, laughing every so often. Several times it looked like they were going to kiss, but then they glanced at me and pulled away. I walked to a bird bath in the atrium and tossed a drachma into the water. Hearth turned to look at me, then turned back to Blitz and obviously asked a question because Blitz said "I don't know. I'll ask her. What are you doing Isabella?"

"Iris messaging my brother. I promised him I would."

"What's Iris messaging?" He asked.

"You're very inquisitive. May you go back to your conversation please? I'd prefer to speak with him in private." Blitz went to say something, but Hearth touched his arm and shook his head.

"Fine." The dwarf said grumpily. "Do what you want." He told me, then turned his attention back to Hearth.

I looked at the drachma, feeling awkward as I spoke. "Oi, Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Nico at Camp Half Blood." I heard Blitz snort behind me, and had to make a conscious effort to keep my powers under control. A figure flickered into view, back turned to me. He was talking to someone else, a blonde boy I recognised, Will. They were sitting awfully close. Will's eyes widened as he noticed me. He nudged my brother.

"Nico, your sister's here."

"Huh? Oh." Nico looked at me and a smile broke open in his face. "Issy!! How are you? Did you get there okay? Are you safe?" I couldn't help smiling a bit. I'd missed my brother so much when I was in Tartarus.

"I'm alright. Everything's a bit confusing, I got chased by this giant squirrel thing, and there's a girl here who's also a boy sometimes, and this place has so much death that my body feels like it's burning. It's kind of like being back in Tartarus in that sense."

"I'm so sorry, Is. I should have remembered you, I should have saved you." I placed my hands either side of the birdbath.

"Nico, don't be ridiculous. It's not your fault. Anyway, we've started coming up with a plan. Magnus can heal people, I think that's meant to make us feel safer, although I haven't told him about the Apollo thing yet. I don't see the point in telling them when I don't even know how to use it. Alex is a bit like Frank, he can shapeshift. I'm told he's a child of Loki. I don't know if I trust him yet. Blitz and Hearth," I heard the couple move slightly as they began to listen in, "think I haven't realised they're in a relationship, so they keep jumping away from each other if they get too close." There was an audible exhalation, a slight laugh, as Blitz obviously signed this to his elf.

"And what do you think?" Nico interjected, oddly quickly.

"Of what? I asked.

"Of then being gay? How do you feel about that?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. I don't care, their relationship is none of my business." Nico raised his eyebrows, unusually curious in the subject.

"And?" He prompted.

"And… I'm glad they're happy?" Nico visibly relaxed and smiled a bit at me. "Why?"

"No reason," he said, again, too quickly, "Just wondered how you were doing. The world has changed a lot since you were last here." I shrugged.

"How are you?" I asked him. "It's not been long, I know, but a lot can happen in a short amount of time." Nico have a lopsided grin and Will laughed. My brother turned back to the blonde boy.

"What's funny?" He asked.

"Nothing! I just haven't seen you smile this much in… Well, ever. It's cute." Nico hissed something under his breath and Will's eyes widened, his cheeks darkening.

"Anyway Is, I'm fine. Worried about you, but there's not much I can do about that. Apollo's turned up, which has kind of shocked all of us. He's human now, going under the name Lester Papadopoulos. And we've got all these Roman Emperors to look out for, but that's okay. It's all under control."

The door to Magnus's room opened, and Magnus entered, followed by a calmed down version of Alex.

"I should go," I told my brother, "Things to do." Nico gave me an earnest smile.

"Okay. Love you, Is. Good luck. Iris message me soon!"

"Love you too. I will." The Iris message ended.

Alex had calmed himself down, and we managed to carry on. Magnus had taken me aside and asked me to avoid mentioning, and I quote, "the, uh, whole controlling the dead thing. It stresses him out." I agreed. My brain was exhausted. I hadn't been around people this much since the 1930's, and I was worn out from trying to avoid any social faux paus. "Okay," Magnus addressed the group, "We should all probably get some rest for now. We'll leave first thing tomorrow, so-" he stopped. "Isabella, are you alright?"

"Yes, why?" I asked, bewildered.

"You're… fading." Blitz told me. I looked down at my hands and cursed. They were going from opaque to translucent, flickering as though I wasn't actually there.

"I need to get out of here. This is a place for the dead, and I am not part of that group. I'll find somewhere on the surface and come back in the morning." Before anyone had time to say anything, I opened Magnus's door, stepped into the shadow it created, and disappeared.

I heaved a breath of crisp, cold air as my feet hit the pavement. I hadn't realised how shallow my breathing had been in the hotel. A homeless man looked rather startled, and I realised that I appeared out of nowhere. Mortals probably weren't accustomed to that. Out of pure instinct, I stepped towards him and clicked my fingers. "Forget." The man blinked hard, and I left.

You'd be surprised, the amount of ghosts there are wandering the streets. I know I was. I tried to avoid making eye contact with any of them, not wanting to be pulled into a conversation I didn't wish to be part of. No such luck. A young lady, she looked to be in her early 20's, noticed me. She was wearing a bright pink tutu over black leggings, some arm warmers and leg warmers, and a top that made my eyes hurt. Her hair stuck out in all directions and her makeup, although dulled by her ghostly appearance, made her look like a barbie doll. "Hey!" She called. "Hello-o? You can see me, right? There's something different about you, I can sense it." I fixed my gaze on the floor and carried on walking, hoping she'd leave me alone, but she didn't. In fact, she started walking beside me. "Ignore me all you want. I won't leave you alone. I've never met someone who can see me before! You know, it's been awfully lonely. I've been dead, what, thirty- odd years? And in that time, not one person has spoken to me. Not one. Do you know what that's like?" I raised my eyebrows and huffed, which was stupid of me. Now she knew I could hear her. "Why won't you talk to me?" She asked. "I promise I'm good conversation. Oh, do you not speak English? Hold on a sec, I learned a bit of Spanish in high school, let's see what I can remember… uhm, ¿Tú hablas Español? Yes? No?" I rolled my eyes and muttered

"di immortales" under my breath.

"What language is that? Is it, like, French or something? Because I don't speak French. I mean, I can speak- wait, where are you going?" I slipped into an alleyway, praying to the gods it was empty. Thankfully, it was.

"What do you want?" I spoke to thin air as she followed me.

"Oh my God, you do speak English! I've been all on my own this whole time, you have no idea how hard it's been."

"Try me." I murmured under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. What do you want then?"

"Some company. Ugh. And I'm so glad you're a girl, boys can be so bleurgh, you know? Hey, how come you can see me?"

"Long story." I told her.

"Oh. Ok." She seemed a bit put out by this answer. "So what's your name?"

"Isabella." She waited for me to elaborate, and when I didn't she coughed and said,

"Well I'm Cassie. Short for Cassandra, but all my friends call me Cassie. We are friends, aren't we?"

"We are?" I asked, but she carried on, unperturbed.

"Ugh, so basically I was walking down the road about thirty years ago, I was only 19, mind you, and some drunk asshole drove onto the sidewalk. I died at the scene." She paused, as if waiting for me to say something. I didn't.

"So, how old are you? You look about my age, maybe a bit younger. You're, what, fifteen? Sixteen?"

"More like 200."

"What? I don't get it?"

"I didn't expect you to. Anyway, bye." I turned to leave, but Cassie started to cry.

"You can't just leave me here. I don't wanna be on my own! And besides, I'll only follow you anyway, you might as well invite me along. Please don't leave me." I rolled my eyes again, then jerked my head in a motion that she should follow me. "Oh, thank you!!" She said, as she began to skip along beside me.

"I need to book myself into a hotel." I told her out of the corner of my mouth. "I guess you can, I don't know, sleep on the chair or something."

"Oh, I don't sleep." She gave me a weird look. "And why are you talking like that."

"Because no one else can see or hear you." I muttered.

"Oh. That makes sense!"

I found a little motel with cheap rooms after a while, and booked myself in. I managed to find the room okay, and I let myself in. Cassie followed me, still chatting at me as I washed my face and climbed into the bed. I fell asleep as she lay beside me, talking in my ear.

A/N- Hey you! Thanks for reading. It's been a while, so if you're still following this story, thanks!!! I really appreciate it. I've kind of lost inspiration for this fanfic, but I'm trying to regain it because I know that I, for one, hate unfinished fanfics, especially when I really enjoy reading them. Anyway, I hope you're well, and, as always, PLEASE REVIEW. See you in the next update!

~Alaya out :)


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